# Are CDs made in West Germany valuable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472 "2015-02-24T01:12:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/1 "2015-02-24T01:12:11Z")
I was helping my father clear out his CD collection today. He wanted to save anything that was made in West Germany, because he thought it would be a rare collectors item. These are CDs manufactured in West Germany, but I have no idea about the nationality of the artists. I don’t know many of the artists, but I do know I have seen some these CDs, or reprints of them, in the bargain bin at my local record store. There are a few others that to this day, are less than $15 new at Best Buy. Does being made in a now defunct country really make them worth more? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/2 "2015-02-24T01:23:06Z")
Two thoughts come to mind: 1. It’s probably going to depend on the artist to some extent. 2. West Germany and CD production overlapped for about ten years (CD invented around 1980, Berlin Wall fell 1990). That’s ten years - not exactly a short amount of time. It has, however, been 25 years since then. FWIW, I was seeing “new” West German made stuff as recently as 2000-ish - so it’s certainly possible that there had been a lot of inventory made and not sold. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/3 "2015-02-24T01:27:05Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > …Does being made in a now defunct country really make them worth more? Also, West Germany isn’t really a “defunct” country as in reality, it took over the former East Germany. “West” wasn’t part of the name - it was simply Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany). People (and some manufacturers and/or importers) simply called it “West Germany” as a sort of shorthand. It’s similar to asking whether the “Union” of the US Civil War is a defunct country. People just call it the “Union”. Formally, it was the United States of America and e.g. the “Union Army” was really just the US Army. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/4 "2015-02-24T04:08:09Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Does being made in a now defunct country really make them worth more? I never got the impression that being from a “defunct” country had anything to do with it. West Germany was one of the original sites for CD production when they were first introduced. The releases were made in relatively small batches for the nascent market and sometimes had unique masters made specifically for their CDs. Within a few years, other manufacturing sites became more prevalent and replaced the West German releases in the retail channel. So, now, the West German CDs are relatively rare and often sound different from subsequent releases. This makes them somewhat interesting to collectors. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/5 "2015-02-24T09:34:24Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Also, West Germany isn’t really a “defunct” country as in reality, it took over the former East Germany. “West” wasn’t part of the name - it was simply Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany). People (and some manufacturers and/or importers) simply called it “West Germany” as a sort of shorthand. > > It’s similar to asking whether the “Union” of the US Civil War is a defunct country. People just call it the “Union”. Formally, it was the United States of America and e.g. the “Union Army” was really just the US Army. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/6 "2015-02-25T17:42:16Z")
Lots and lots of CDs were made in West Germany. One of the main pressing plants was in Langenhagen, operated by PDO (Philips DuPont Optical), from 1986 to 1991. > **[PDO, Germany](https://www.discogs.com/label/358025-PDO-Germany)** > > German record company with two vinyl, a CD and a cassette manufacturing plant. Operating under this name from January 1986 until September 1991. > PolyGram transferred control of their West German manufacturing and distribution activities from PRS... ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/7 "2015-02-25T19:46:12Z")
Not just CDs, but in terms of collectability I would hazard a guess and say that anything labeled or branded - _Made in the GDR_ (or _DDR_ in German i.e. East Germany) would be more collectable… ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/8 "2015-02-25T20:07:06Z")
According to a discussion I found on a German message board, there were no CDs produced in the GDR (“East Germany”). However (according to said discussion), the official East German record label _Eterna_ did indeed distribute classical music CDs. I guess these CDs could be of interest for collectors. ---
**Author:** ![collusion\_collision](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@collusion\_collision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/collusion_collision)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/9 "2016-10-26T02:00:19Z")
i have a copy of Lloyd Cole and The Commotions _Rattlesnakes_ here which was originally released on CD in 1985 and has the “Made in West Germany” markings in the liner notes and the disc. This is, however, a more recent reprint, as the underside of the disc has the new Universal logo and “Made in Germany by EDC”. So the label didn’t bother updating the country of manufacture in the original wordings (or the label marking itself, either - Polydor was absorbed into Universal Music Group in 1998.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/10 "2016-10-26T06:54:41Z")
I wouldn’t have thought there was that much rarity value in records made in _East_ Germany. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/11 "2016-10-26T07:14:52Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I wouldn’t have thought there was that much rarity value in records made in _East_ Germany. I pass a record store on my way to work; they display the latest music magazines in the window. A couple of months back one of the magazines had a cover story all about collecting records from the former GDR. So I guess the market is big enough to get covered occasionally by the mainstream music press here. [eBay.de](http://eBay.de) has [an entire section dedicated to East German records](http://www.ebay.de/bhp/ddr-schallplatten), with opening bids on [some individual albums](http://www.ebay.de/itm/10-LP-Robert-Schumann-Liederkreis-op-39-ETERNA-DDR-Vinyl-720017-Schallplatte-/272409250071?hash=item3f6cdb4917:g:EbAAAOSw~ZdVgGLa) set as high as €199. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/12 "2016-10-26T10:33:28Z")
OOh, I’ve got an old LP of Gisela May I bought in the DDR nearly 50 years ago. I wonder if that’s worth anything. ---
**Author:** ![PatrynXX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@PatrynXX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrynXX)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/13 "2024-03-18T00:38:53Z")
2024 asked this exact question and this site came up. I got mine in around 1991. it was on Clearance but it is Def Leppards On Through the Night. Their first official album. Think it was in a unique plastic sleeve but could be wrong coulda been full cardboard. In the clearance bin. It looked old then still does. Mercury records does says Phonogram in the tiny. But it became Polygram… ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/14 "2024-03-18T01:28:32Z")
I think the best source for info whether your Bon Jovi CD from Germany is more valuable than the one from Wisconsin is [Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/), a music collector site. They will, for most artists, have detailed breakdowns of all different issues and pressings of albums, singles and CDs backed with prices sought by collectors. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/15 "2024-03-18T17:51:42Z")
There might or might not be rarities among those CDs, but the fact that they say they were made in West Germany does not mean much in itself. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/16 "2024-03-18T21:08:28Z")
If I recall correctly, German pressings were considered higher quality than, say, American. So they were worth more not because they were rarer, but because they were better. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cds-made-in-west-germany-valuable/713472/17 "2024-03-19T00:48:16Z")
not universally true … it depends on the autor/title … e.g. Pink Floyd’s - Dark side of the Moon … the most thought after pressing is dutch not german (making this up) … and the 30th anniversary remaster is vastly superior to the original one. and given that you nowadays can purchase 24-96 HiDef files from places like HD-tracks - and those will - ceteris paribus - be superior to the 16-44 CD redbook disk … anyway… so yea, instead of $5 you might get $20 every now end then, and most likely just $5.50 for 90% of the material. … don’t plan on retireing on that CD colection, esp. now that vinyl is the latest fad and cd has fallen out of favor…