Free toolIdentify
Jacket price checker
Publishers reprinted the jacket when the price went up, so the price on the front flap helps tell a first printing's jacket from a later one. Type it as printed and see what it says.
- Free
- Shillings, pounds, dollars
- Under a minute
How to check a jacket price
Find the price
It is printed on the front flap, usually in a corner, sometimes on the back. Type it as printed: 7/6, 12s 6d net, £10.99, $3.95.
Name the publisher and year
From the title page. They let us compare the price with the printings we have recorded from that house.
Read the verdict
Whether the price matches a first printing's jacket, a later one, or none we hold, and what the price itself says about the era.
Britain priced books in shillings and pence until decimalisation on 15 February 1971, and most jackets carried "net" to show the price was fixed under the Net Book Agreement, which lasted until 1997. When a reprint went out at a higher price the publisher printed a new jacket, so a first printing in a jacket priced for a later one is a "married" copy and worth less. American publishers printed the price on the front flap too, and the first printing's price is one of the points dealers check. Our guide to dust jackets covers clipping, facsimiles and how much the jacket adds to the value.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the price on the dust jacket matter?
Publishers reprinted jackets when the price rose, so the price on the front flap is one of the points that separates a first printing's jacket from a later one. Bibliographies record the first printing's price for exactly this reason.
What does 7/6 or 12s 6d mean?
Shillings and pence, the British currency before decimalisation on 15 February 1971: 7/6 is seven shillings and sixpence. "net" means the price was fixed under the Net Book Agreement. A shillings price on a book dated after 1971 means the jacket is from an earlier printing.
What is a price-clipped jacket?
A jacket whose price corner has been cut off, usually by a gift-giver. It cannot be checked against the first printing's price, so dealers grade it lower and collectors pay less.
How many jacket prices do you hold?
We record the jacket price on the printings researched for identification and add more every week. Where we hold none for your book yet, the checker still reads the price and what it says about the era, and the book's own page lists its other points.
Link to this tool
This page has a permanent address and is free for anyone to use or link to. To cite it: MyVolumes, Jacket price checker, https://myvolumes.com/tools/jacket-price-checker/, accessed 25 October 2026.
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<a href="https://myvolumes.com/tools/jacket-price-checker/">Jacket price checker (MyVolumes)</a>More free tools
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