THE BEATLES - The Beatles Collection

Item Description

14 x Vinyl,
LP Album

Each LP in its original issue sleeve (exceptions see below), housed in high quality black text on gold leaf (unique to Australia) 12" textured box:

LP01: Please Please Me (PCSO 3042)
LP02: With The Beatles (PCSO 3045)*
LP03: A Hard Day's Night (PCSO 3058)
LP04: Beatles For Sale (PCSO 3062)**
LP05: Help! (PCSO 3071)
LP06: Rubber Soul (PCSO 3075)
LP07: Revolver (PCSO 7009)
LP08: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (PCSO 7027)***
LP10/11: The Beatles (PCSO 7067-8)****
LP11: Yellow Submarine (PCSO 7070)
LP12: Abbey Road (PCSO 7088)
LP13: Let It Be (PCSO 7096)
LP14: Rarities (PSLP261)

The box itself carries no catalogue number

* Comes in UK sleeve
** Comes in its original Australia-only single sleeve with 4 live photos from the 1964 Australian tour.
*** Comes in single sleeve without any inserts
**** Comes in gatefold sleeve with inserts (4 portraits and poster), but is not individually numbered

All LPs are now on black Parlophone labels (no Apple labels for the the later ones). Limited to 4000 copies (with a small numbered yellow certificate), and reportedly withdrawn early, as the gold foil on the box was too fragile.

Previous history (from beatlesaustralia.com):
by mid-1980 more than 25,000 sets had sold, representing 325,000 actual albums. To commemorate this six-platinum achievement, The Beatles' Australian publisher ATV Northern Songs presented EMI (Australia) with a "gold box". Four years later, EMI (Australia) would itself commemorate the achievement by releasing the set in a textured, gold coloured box. Each box contained a uniquely-numbered yellow certificate stating "LIMITED EDITION GOLD BOX SET No 000# OF 4000", however, evidence suggests that more than 4,000 gold box sets were sold, as—contrary to the popular legend that the box was withdrawn—the set remained a steady seller well into the second half of 1987.

Like the Australian-made blue box, the gold box was prone to corner splits on the lift-off lid. In addition, the gold box suffered terribly from the gold cover peeling, meaning that boxes in near mint condition are very rare.