Christmas flexis metal stampers sold

The 1963 metal stamper. Photo by Omega auctions.

In their recent Beatles auction, Omega Auctions sold a set of original metal stampers, used to press The Beatles’ Christmas flexis, individually. The stampers went for prices ranging from £500 to £700 a piece.

You’ll remember that back in 1970, when fans were sent an album containing all the Christmas messages from 1963 to 1969, several masters had been lost, so some of the tracks were sourced from Fan club secretary Freda Kelly’s collection of flexis. If they had had these stampers, they would have been a better source.

A set of five of the original Christmas flexis were sold at the auction for £360.

Here’s the description of the 1963 metal stamper:

THE BEATLES – THE BEATLES CHRISTMAS RECORD 7″ METAL STAMPER (LYN 492-1U). A 7″ metal stamper used to press The Beatles 1963 7″ flexi-disc release The Beatles Christmas Record (LYN 492-1, metal surface appears to be in excellent condition).

Sold for £500

The metal stampers. Photo by Omega auctions

For Christmas 2017, The Beatles released a limited edition boxed set of all seven singles, pressed on coloured vinyl. In the accompanying booklet, we are informed that some of those singles were also sourced from the original discs.

The 2017 Christmas singles collection