High Numbers indeed

As regular readers will know I spend a lot of time at car boot sales and charity shops chasing down records of interest. Many of those I buy have little value, but are at least of some interest to me. But now and again I come across one that is a collector's dream - a rarity that is in great demand. When that happens, and i decide to sell it, I choose not to use eBay, which is my usual choice, but go to a specialist record selling site such as John Manship. A few years back I picked up a one sided Pink Floyd demo ('It Would Be So Nice') which sold for over £800. That one set me back 50p at a car boot sale in Hampshire. Last week I sold a 45 that I bought for a mere 20p some time in the nineties at a car boot in North London, again through John Manship. It was the highly sought after single by the High Numbers, an early incarnation of the Who, comprising 'Zoot Suit', a rip off of the Dynamics' 'Misery', and 'I'm The Face', a copy of Slim Harpo's 'Got Love If You Want It'. The record was aimed at the Mod market but clearly sold very few copies. But the band went on to become the Who. Today it is highly collectable and my 20p copy sold for around £1400.

I've got quite a few records that I picked up for next to nothing over the years and I am considering selling a few more as I am moving house soon, getting older and hardly ever play my rare records. The days when bargains fell into my lap at car boot sakles are pretty well over, although I will continue to keep my eyes open. You never know, I might just find another crock of gold in the form of a rare record that makes 'High Numbers' when I sell it.