The CS:GO skins market is worth millions of dollars, with thousands of dollars trading hands per day on betting sites, marketplaces, auction houses and elsewhere. It started out simply; players could earn drops by playing the game, or pay for keys to open up crates they earned. But then they gave those skins value, let players trade them on the Steam marketplace, and the rest is history. The game’s skin market has created an economy more important than the game’s in-game economy.
CS:GO's skin economy is far more valuable compared to the in-game one. (Image via Valve.)
Many things determine a skin’s value. What weapon it’s for, what its wear rating is, how rare it is, which pros use it, if StatTrak is on it, what case it comes in, etc. The quality or wear of a gun determines its value, starting with the least valuable in Battle-Scarred, and moving up through Well-Worn, Field-Tested, Minimal Wear, and then Factory New. StatTrak is a feature of some skins that place a total kill counter on the weapon, and its presence automatically improves the skin’s value.
This list of variables results in some pretty pricey CS:GO skins with extraordinarily high asking prices. We’re gonna take a look at some of the most expensive skins available right now and where they came from. For this article, we’re going to look at what the skins are listed for Steam, what people are requesting to pay for them, and where the buyers and the sellers are meeting in the middle. We’re also going to leave off non-serious listings (like a $1300 asking price for a well-worn Desert Eagle skin that people are requesting to buy for $300).
The most expensive AK-47 skin: Fire Serpent
The Fire Serpent skin for the AK-47, Minimal Wear. (Image via Valve)
The Fire Serpent skin was introduced in the early days of CS:GO in 2013, as part of Operation Bravo. The Operation Bravo case was the first skin case to be introduced as part of an Operation, and remains one of the rarest and most valuable cases to this day. Operation Bravo cases hover around $50 on the Steam store, and contains other expensive skins like the Emerald Dragon for the P90, and the Graphite skin for the AWP.
Currently on the Steam marketplace, a Minimal Wear Fire Serpent is listed for $1852.58, with over 1500 users with requests to buy it at $1526.51 or lower. In the month of June 2021, three Minimal Wear Fire Serpents sold for at least $1800, so for the one active seller, he won’t have to drop his asking price much or at all. There are no Factory New Fire Serpents available on the Steam Market, but it can be purchased from third-party sites like CSGO Stash for $4200.
The most expensive AWP skin: Lightning Strike
The Lightning Strike ski for the AWP, StatTrak Factory New. (Image via Valve)
The Lightning Strike skin was introduced as part of the very first weapon case, aptly called the CS:GO Weapon Case. The case by itself is valued at $54.97 currently, with high-value skins like the Case Hardened AK-47 in there as well, making it the most expensive case available.
At the time of writing, there were nine public listings for a Factory New StatTrak Lightning Strike skin for the AWP. The cheapest being $1000 and the highest being $1710.97. Recently, several have been sold between the $1000-1200 range, with a shocking exception being an unexplainable June 17 sale for $28.66. Whoever bought at that price could instantly turn around and make $1000, and whoever sold it must be kicking themselves.
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The most expensive knife skin: Tiger Tooth Butterfly Knife
The Tiger Tooth Butterfly Knife. (Image via Valve)
Knives are by far and away some of the most sought-after items compared to all other CS:GO skins. If you’ve followed the scene long enough, at one point you’ve watched a player or streamer go absolutely mental after winning a knife in a case opening. The AWP and the AK-47 have common/basic skins you can purchase for less than $0.50. The cheapest knife, the Ultraviolet Navaja Knife (Battle-Scarred) is listed for $69.
There are actually several knives listed on Steam that tie for the most expensive at around $1850. So as a tiebreaker, we’ll give it to the one with the highest request price at $1434.35, the Tiger Tooth Butterfly Knife (Minimal Wear). This knife can be found in either the Spectrum or Spectrum 2 Case, which can be bought for less than a dollar, but the odds of getting a knife are very low. But those cases have a few weapons worth at least $100 if you get StatTrak versions, like the AK-47 Bloodsport or the USP-S Neo-Noir.
The most expensive agent: Sir Bloody Miami Darryl
The Sir Bloody Miami Darryl agent skin. Vice looks nice on him. (Image via Valve)
The full-body character customization skins known as Agents were introduced in Operation Shattered Web at the end of 2019. Agents come with their own rarity scale, starting with Distinguished and moving up through Exceptional, Superior, and then Master. While they don’t command nearly the same amount of money that weapon skins do, you can still earn yourself a few dollars if you find yourself a rare one.
The most expensive agent skin is the Sir Bloody Miami Darryl skin, listed as low as $15.49. Darryl is the leader of a group known as the Professionals, and his Miami attire is the most valuable of any agent skin. Regarding his wardrobe choice, the description reads, “This white hockey mask and floral shirt were popular choices during his Vice phase.”
Other most expensive CS:GO skins
- Desert Eagle: Hand Cannon (Factory New) – $787.03 asking price, requests for $681.92, recently sold for $839.82.
- Gloves: Spearmint Moto Gloves (Field-Tested) – $1918.16 asking price, requests for $1638, recently sold for $1826.72.
- M4A4: Poseidon (Minimal Wear) – $1865.09 asking price, requests for $1717.99, recently sold for $1899.23
- M4A1-S: Welcome to the Jungle (Well-Worn) – $1543.02 asking price, requests for $1082.35, recently sold for $1146.33.
- Pin: Howl – $88.40 asking price, requests for $82.24, recently sold for $108.70.
- Souvenir Package: PGL Krakow 2017 Cobblestone Souvenir Package – $1097.80 asking price, requests for $837.43, recently sold for $1610.
