This is a VERY COOL and VERY RARE record from the band BLACK SABBATH, the godfathers of Heavy Metal. This is a rare Holland 1st pressing of their self titled release "Black Sabbath" on the record label Vertigo (VO6) (847 903 VTY)and it is signed by all 4 original members!!! 

The cover is signed by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. I was lucky enough to meet them when they did a special autograph signing at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN almost 17 years ago. The event was on 10/28/1998. I still have the flyer. They were out promoting the Reunion CD release.

I have included a couple photos from that evening, though I do not have a photo of them signing the record I have available sale here.

This piece history deserves to be in a frame on some fans wall. 

The cover looks good, though there are a few issues. First - The cover is a bit warped do to some slight water damage. The front and back covers have a very nice finish to them and they are very smooth. This was good in preserving the cover. It only causes it to warp. It did not rip, tear or effect the image in any way. The inside shows some signs of wear. The front cover is signed by all 4 original members. They all signed it with a silver sharpie and sadly as they passed the record down the line some of the ink smeared. Still cool as hell! Next the record itself looks great. However there is one surface scratch I can see on each side. Neither appear to be deep. I am not sure if either will effect the playback.

 - Side 1 

Black Sabbath The Wizard Behind the Wall of Sleep N.I.B.

 - Side 2

Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games With Me Sleeping Village Warning The record comes in a standard white sleeve.

I have been a Heavy Metal collector for 30+ years now. All of the items that I have listed are from my personal collection. It's time for me to pass them off to someone new to enjoy. 

Payment must be received via Paypal within 4 days of winning this auction. If the 4 days expires, eBay will automatically open a case file and contact you about your payment. If you need more time or are planning to bid / purchase multiple items from me and wish to combine the shipping you need to contact me beforehand to work that out.

I have stored all of my records with care over the years. This will ship to you from a smoke free home. Your record will ship to you wrapped in bubble wrap inside a box designed for shipping records. 

I will ship $4 Media Mail in the US and $20 for first class shipping outside the US,  but I will no longer ship to the Russian Federation. Too many damaged items. 

I ship Monday - Friday. Thanks for your interest!

Keep them Horns up \m/

Below is some info I found out about this pressing. 

Identify UK Vertigo Swirl 1st pressings the easy way! Without a doubt, UK Vertigo Swirl LPs are amongst the most desirable, collectible and therefore most valuable vinyl LPs on ebay! It's crucial to understand exactly what you are bidding on, as there are plenty of sellers out there offering what they claim to be UK 1st pressings (either unintentionally or deliberately!) - quite often these turn out to be second or third issues of the LP, and in some instances not from the UK at all! 

Whether UK pressings are better or not than any other country's release, it's what pretty much all collectors are willing to shell out for, so you need to be assured that you are bidding on the correct LP. 

There are, in total, only 88 official UK releases on Vertigo Swirl - (2 compilations were prepared for release but only ever issued as white label promos - so they have been excluded from the total. 

Values are incredibly subjective! Record Collector guide prices for Vertigo Swirl have been blown out of all proportion on ebay in the last 12 months or so; indicative of just how highly sought after these records are. 

OUTER SLEEVES: 
ALL UK Vertigo sleeves were originally issued as NON laminate gatefold sleeves - which does make them prone to wear and tear. Some sleeves were issued with more complex, so-called gimmick covers - these will be detailed against their specific artist. 
An example of a later sleeve issue, is Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" - if a copy is offered for sale with a laminated sleeve, the sleeve is NOT a 1st issue sleeve. It is from around mid-1971 onwards and coincided with a redesigned 'B-side' label. More on that shortly! It is possible that a collector has substituted a 1971 2nd or 3rd issue laminated sleeve for an earlier, worn out, non-laminated sleeve - to create a 'better looking set'. In this instance, you must refer to the 'B-side' label design to accurately determine the presing version of the vinyl. 

LABEL DESIGN: 
Version 1 - A PHILIPS RECORD PRODUCT 
The 'A-side' label consists of the large Vertigo 'swirl' (often called 'spiral' too) and remains constant throughout the 4 year production cycle. There are slight variants of this by country, but the best method of identifying pressings is the 'B-side' (white) label design. 

The first 6 releases on UK Vertigo Swirl ALL carried a VO prefix to the catalogue number. And, most importantly, all 6 of these releases ALWAYS had the text A PHILIPS RECORD PRODUCT in bold type, semi circular, beneath the VERTIGO. The swirl design is the larger size and sits above the spindle hole, the VERTIGO is below the spindle. The most common examples of 1st pressings from this era being mis-identified are Colosseum's "Valentyne Suite", Black Sabbath's debut - "Black Sabbath" and Rod Stewart's "An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down" 

The VO series: 
COLOSSEUM - VALENTYNE SUITE 
VO1 (847 900 VTY) - 1969 - gatefold, unlaminated 

JUICY LUCY 
VO2 (847 901 VTY) - 1969 - gatefold, unlaminated 

MANFRED MANN CHAPTER III 
V03 (847 902 VTY) - 1969 - gatefold, unlaminated 

ROD STEWART - AN OLD RAINCOAT WON'T EVER LET YOU DOWN 
V04 (847 200 VTY) - 1969 - gatefold, unlaminated 

BLACK SABBATH
V06 (847 903 VTY) - 1970 - gatefold, unlaminated 

CRESSIDA
V07 (847 904 VTY) - 1970 - gatefold, unlaminated
    

Note the subtle differences in type sizes and positioning of some elements; 
Colosseum label text is all quite big and a bit cramped; 
Juicy Lucy song titles are now a bit smaller; 
Manfred Mann consistent with Juicy Lucy style; 
Rod Stewart - 1969 is higher above 33 1/3, song titles now in upper case throughout, album title and artist and catalogue number smaller than 3 previous releases; 

  

Black Sabbath style now follows the Rod Stewart layout 
Cressida as above 

(NB - VO5 was never issued to a release so don't bother looking for it!) 

what remains constant through all these initial 6 releases, is the large swirl above spindle, VERTIGO below the spindle and A PHILIPS RECORD PRODUCT below VERTIGO. If your label does not look like this, it's NOT a UK 1st press. 

Examples of mis-described Black Sabbath 1st pressings: 

  

on the left, a 2nd issue (missing the all important "A PHILIPS RECORD PRODUCT') - this is from mid 1970 to early 1971 
on the right, a 3rd issue with the smaller swirl logo and VERTIGO now above the spindle - from mid 1971 up to 1973 (Black Sabbath's catalogue was then reissued on WWA, then NEMS!) 

Please see parts 2 and 3 for 6360 series and variations on label design 2, 3 and 3a!