Top 5 most expensive skins in CS:GO you can buy today
With prices ranging from a few cents to several thousand dollars, CS:GO skins have become a self-sustaining trading economy. The marketplace for buying and selling skins is booming, and some are estimating that the total market cap could reach in the excess of $1 billion.
If you’ve got a few thousand bucks burning a hole in your pocket, we’ve listed the 5 most expensive skins in CS:GO that you can buy right now.
StatTrak Factory New: Not available
Factory New: $450+
Even though it's not nearly as expensive as some of the other items on this list or even in the game, as the most expensive and iconic pistol skin in CS:GO, our list wouldn't really be complete without the Blaze.
Originally released as part of The Dust Collection in 2013, the Desert Eagle Blaze quickly became a fan favorite. Sporting a hot-rod paint job with surging flames covering the barrel on top of a solid black base, the Blaze has become a must-have for any serious collector.
The Blaze would drop as a mission reward during the Operation of The Arms Deal update. At the end of the update, the Operation was removed from the game, and The Dust Collection no longer dropped. Since then, it has gradually increased in value from as little as $10 all the way to the current value of around $450 to $500.
StatTrak Factory New: $10.000+
Factory New: $3.000+
The AK-47 Fire Serpent was released as part of The Bravo Collection in 2013 and quickly became a favorite among pros and players alike. Inspired by the graffiti found in maps like Overpass, the Fire Serpent is fairly simplistic compared to other skins, only featuring a Mayan dragon flying above light-blue clouds.
With the end of Operation Bravo, the Bravo Collection cases stopped dropping, making the Fire Serpent increasingly rare as more cases were used and disappeared from the game.
StatTrak Factory New: $27.000+
Factory New: $11.000+
The M4A4 Howl was introduced with The Huntsman Collection consisting of 15 community-made weapon skins and depicts the head of a wolf in flames covering a black base with red stripes.
A couple of weeks after its initial release, Valve discovered that the design had been stolen by the alleged creators. When the original creator submitted a DMCA claim to remove it from the game, Valve redesigned it and removed the skin from the Huntsman Weapon Case altogether.
After the incident and subsequent removal from Huntsman cases, the only way to get your hands on a Howl will be through direct purchase from a seller or trade-up contracts. This has made the Howl one of the rarest skins in the game, which naturally made the demand and value sky-rocket.
StatTrak Factory New: $25.000+
Factory New: $21.000+
The Doppler Butterfly Knife released in the Spectrum and Spectrum 2 cases as part of the "Take a trip to the Canals" update in 2017. Every Doppler has a randomized pattern and color combination, making every knife unique to one another.
Due to their resemblance to the gemstone, Doppler knives with blue and purple fluorescent color combinations have been given the name Doppler Sapphire by collectors, and they're some of the rarest and most sought-after knives in the entire game.
The Doppler Sapphire Butterfly Knife still drops from both Spectrum cases, although your best bet to getting one will be a direct purchase from a seller due to their extremely low drop rates.
Souvenir Factory New: $60.000+
Factory New: $17.000+
No other skin has the allure of the AWP Dragon Lore. Originally released with The Cobblestone Collection in 2014, the Dragon Lore features a Viking-inspired dragon motif and checkered patterns covering the barrel, buttstock, and scope.
During the 2014 Major Tournaments, the Dragon Lore could drop in-game or from The Cobblestone Collection cases. As the cases were discontinued in 2014, the only way players could get their hands on one was if they had a case or through trade-up contracts.
Today, the value of the Souvenir and Factory New versions are among the most expensive in-game items of all time.