Pennyroyal 3 - Love Buzz

White label test pressing, black vinyl. Plain white inner sleeve only. According to Jonathan Poneman, co-owner of Sub Pop, there were ten copies made. Seven confirmed copies have been found.

Copy 1 was sold by Poneman personally to a local collector [1], but has since been resold. Copy 2 was given to a local shop, then sold to a collector from New York, and then to the current owner around 1997 [2]. Copy 3 was given to radio DJ Scott Vanderpool back in 1988. This was possibly the first Nirvana record played on the radio. [3] Scott sold his copy on eBay in June 2007. Copy 4 was discovered in late 2009, and is still in the hands of the original recipient. Copy 5 surfaced in 2010 when the owner, Mudhoney's Steve Turner, first attempted to sell it on eBay. He got the test pressing while visiting the Sub Pop offices [4]. Copy 6 was given to the manager of The Rocket by either Bruce Pavitt or Poneman, and whoever of them it was also labeled the test pressing in the newspaper's lobby [5].

Copy 7 was once sold on eBay by Mark Arm of Mudhoney. It was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity (COA) which he obtained from Poneman [6]. This COA is where the information regarding the quantity was obtained. It was sold for $1260 to a person in Seattle, and Arm delievered the test pressing personally. The COA reads [7]:

Dear Discerning Collector,
This 7 inch record is one of ten test pressings made for SP-23: Love Buzz b/w Big Cheese by Nirvana. It is the first Sub Pop Singles Club single. It was released in November 1988. Etched between the grooves and the label on side A you will find the matrix number L-31540 and the eternal question, "WHY DON'T YOU TRADE THOSE GUITARS FOR SHOWELS*" The matrix number L31540X is etched between the grooves and the label on side B. The labels are white with nothing printed on either side.
Rock On,
(Signed)
Jonathan Poneman
co-founder Sub Pop Records

An unconfirmed copy was sold around 1992 or 1993 for $75. The seller supposedly had two copies, and had worked in and around the Seattle scene, including Sub Pop. The whereabouts of these copies are unknown.

Except for copy 7, all surfaced copies have different handwritten notes, and all written in different types of pen or pencil. Titles and other info seem to have been added on a case-to-case basis, either by Sub Pop or by later owners. Especially the case of copy 2 with text in two different colors, the black text may have been written by Sub Pop, while the blue text was probably written by a later owner. All the text on copy 4 was added by the original recipient [8], perhaps except "Nirvana" on the sleeve. "Nirvana" was written by a Sub Pop employee on copy 5, "SP 23" however, was written on the sleeve by Turner [4].