Why are there so many of them?

From what I understand, this one

went along with the CDs that had the symbol etched on the case.

This one...

is the same...I guess?

And this one is the...standard?

I don't really know, as I was 2 when it came out. So do any diehard memorabilia collectors have light to shine on this?

Also, what are the rarity values on these? This is the cover I have.

[Edited 7/2/10 17:57pm]

Don't forget this cover too!!

andykeen said:

nice

^^ I believe your pic #3 is from the vinyl LP.

[img:$uid]http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5206/lovesymbol92.png[/img:$uid]

This 1 is from iTunes, if I remember right

The gold thick cover of this is the only one remotely rare.

Some of the covers had the gold symbol imprinted on the CD or Cassette jewel case, but a few later printings started to put a yellow symbol on top of the cover picture. I don't think that there was ever a gold one imprinted on the cover picture; just the yellow one.

The gold case w/ the purple symbol is a special set, but the contents are the same as the regular release. There aren't extra tracks or a bonus disk. The artwork is all the same. It's just a fancy package, one which is a cool little collector's item.

Why are there so many? Probably a bit more cost efficient to print the yellow symbol on the cover, rather than put a gold one on every jewel case forever more.

ernestsewell said:

Some of the covers had the gold symbol imprinted on the CD or Cassette jewel case, but a few later printings started to put a yellow symbol on top of the cover picture. I don't think that there was ever a gold one imprinted on the cover picture; just the yellow one.

Yeah, the later pressings don't have the spot color gold screen printed jewel-case, just a CMYK approximation on the booklet.

There are several different covers/cases. Besides the differences between early and later pressings, there were also "clean" and "explicit" versions with/without pre-printed "Parental Advisory" logos on the booklets. Also, the European on the jewel-case is much shinier and has a more elegant, thinner shape - it looks more mirror-like. Euro cases also had a purple and yellow sticker on the case. The US case has a matte and it's a tad thicker. There are also a bunch of differentiations on the CD disc itself. Most differences were slight and consisted of the color and shape of the repeated male/female symbol having little variations, but some editions of the gold box came with a band photo on the disc - some had the regular purple background and symbol pattern.

nice thread

majic said:

Why are there so many of them?

From what I understand, this one

This is the one that I have... bought it the day it came out, in a beautiful CD longbox. I'll wager that all of the original US pressings on CD had this cover, with the gold symbol on the jewel case. The rest came after.

I wish they still made the gold-stamped plastic, mine is almost all etched off (that CD got a lot of love back in the day)

I have the Mexican picture disc somewhere.

dunno how rare that gold foil box version is. i picked up a few of them as cut-outs for $5 each a couple years later.

I bought the gold foil box version on Ebay 2 years ago for £2, in mint condition.

Nice thing.

billymeade said:

majic said:

Why are there so many of them?

From what I understand, this one

This is the one that I have... bought it the day it came out, in a beautiful CD longbox. I'll wager that all of the original US pressings on CD had this cover, with the gold symbol on the jewel case. The rest came after.

I wish they still made the gold-stamped plastic, mine is almost all etched off (that CD got a lot of love back in the day)

Yeah, this anal-retentive collector put the case in a plastic bag as soon as I brought it home.

squirrelgrease said:

billymeade said:

This is the one that I have... bought it the day it came out, in a beautiful CD longbox. I'll wager that all of the original US pressings on CD had this cover, with the gold symbol on the jewel case. The rest came after.

I wish they still made the gold-stamped plastic, mine is almost all etched off (that CD got a lot of love back in the day)

Yeah, this anal-retentive collector put the case in a plastic bag as soon as I brought it home.

Haha, mine is in tip top condition too, as my entire prince collection is.