Are Old Penthouse and Hustler Magazines Worth Anything? Most Are $5–20

Most old Penthouse and Hustler magazines sell for $5 to $20 each, and often less when they're sold as a bundle. A handful of issues are worth real money: the September 1969 first US issue of Penthouse, the 1984 Vanessa Williams issue, Hustler's July 1974 first issue, and a few notorious issues from the late 1970s. This guide covers which ones matter, what they sell for, and how to tell what you have without reading a single page.

The short version

If you've found a stack in a garage or a late relative's closet, here's the order to check:

1. Penthouse, September 1969. The first American issue. Worth $150 in rough shape and $1,500 or more in top condition.
2. Penthouse, October 1969. The second issue. Around $50 to $600 depending on condition.
3. Penthouse, September 1984. The Vanessa Williams issue. The best-selling issue the magazine ever had, which also means lots of copies survive. Typically $20 to $60, more for a clean copy.
4. Hustler, July 1974. The first issue, and hard to find in good condition because almost nobody kept it.
5. A few notorious Hustler issues from 1975 to 1978, covered below.

Everything else is mostly in the $5 to $20 range, and 1990s and 2000s issues are at the bottom of that.

Penthouse: the issues that matter

Penthouse started in Britain in 1965 and launched in the US in September 1969 as a direct competitor to Playboy. The first American issue is the one collectors want, and it behaves the same way as the Playboy first issue: the value is almost entirely about condition.

Price-guide figures for Penthouse #1 (September 1969) run from about $150 for a worn copy to around $600 in very fine condition, and over $1,500 for a near-mint copy. Graded, sealed or truly perfect copies have guide values in the thousands, but those are rare and the asking prices you see online are often far above what anyone pays.

Penthouse #2 (October 1969) is the only other early issue with real value, at roughly $50 to $600. By issue #3 the values fall off a cliff. A 1969 or 1970 issue other than the first two is usually a $5 to $20 magazine.

The September 1984 issue is the famous one. It published photos of Vanessa Williams, the reigning Miss America, and she gave up her crown as a result. The issue sold around 5.3 million copies, more than any other in the magazine's history. That fame is why people search for it, and the same fame is why it isn't especially rare. Ordinary copies sell for $20 to $60. A sharp copy with no mailing label and a flat spine can do better. The September 1985 Madonna issue sold about 5 million copies and sits in the same price range.

Beyond those, Penthouse values are driven by cover models and celebrities rather than age. Issues from the 1970s with well-known covers tend to sell for $10 to $30. Issues from the 1990s onward are mostly a few dollars each.

Hustler: the issues that matter

Hustler launched in July 1974, sold in far smaller numbers than Playboy or Penthouse in its early years, and was the kind of magazine people threw away. That combination makes early issues scarcer than their age suggests.

• July 1974, the first issue. The one to look for. Copies in decent condition are hard to find and sell for well above any other issue.
• August 1975. The issue that ran paparazzi photos of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which made national news and sold out.
• 1977 "scratch and sniff" issue. A gimmick issue that collectors look for because of the gimmick.
• June 1978, the "meat grinder" cover. One of the most controversial magazine covers ever printed, and a known collector's item for that reason.

Early Hustler issues in good shape commonly sell for $30 to $100, with the first issue and the Onassis issue going higher. Ordinary 1980s issues sell for $5 to $15. Later issues are worth very little, and some sellers struggle to give them away.

What the rest is worth

For the average issue of either magazine, the honest numbers are:

• 1970s: $8 to $25, depending on cover and condition
• 1980s: $5 to $15
• 1990s and later: $2 to $8, and usually sold in lots

Selling in bundles of five or ten by year gets a better total than listing each issue alone, because buyers of this material are usually filling gaps in a collection.

Condition changes everything

With magazines, condition does more to the price than the issue number. The things that knock value down:

• A mailing label on the cover. Subscription copies are worth less than newsstand copies, and a label that was torn off and left a scar is worse still.
• Missing centerfolds, pages or inserts. Check that the centerfold is attached and intact. A lot of copies have had it removed.
• Spine damage, water stains, mildew smell. Magazines stored in basements and garages often have all three.
• Writing on the cover. Prices, names, dates.

A copy with none of those problems can be worth three to five times what a worn one brings.

How to check what you have

Look at the cover date, not the copyright line in the small print. Then search the exact month and year plus the magazine's name on eBay and filter to Sold items, which shows what buyers actually paid rather than what sellers hoped for. Compare against copies in similar condition.

For a big box, the Valued app can identify an issue from a photo of the cover and give you a starting estimate, so you can pull out the few that deserve a proper look before you spend an evening searching. The method for checking any collectible is in our guide to finding out what an antique is worth.

If you also have Playboys in the stack, those are worth checking separately, since the values are different. See are old Playboy magazines worth anything.

Selling them

eBay is where almost all of these sell. List the valuable early issues individually with clear photos of the cover, the spine, the centerfold and any flaws. Bundle the rest by year or decade. Magazines ship best flat, in a rigid mailer, and heavy bundles are cheaper by Media Mail in the US.

Be aware that marketplaces have rules about adult magazines. On eBay, they belong in the adult-only category, which has its own listing requirements, and some other platforms don't allow them at all.

Common questions

Is a 1969 Penthouse worth anything?

Only the first two issues, September and October 1969, are worth real money. The first issue sells for $150 to $1,500 or more depending on condition. Later 1969 and 1970 issues are usually worth $5 to $20.

How much is the Vanessa Williams Penthouse worth?

Most copies of the September 1984 issue sell for $20 to $60. It was the magazine's best-selling issue, so plenty of copies exist. Clean newsstand copies without a mailing label sell at the top of that range or a little above.

Are old Hustler magazines worth money?

The July 1974 first issue and a few notorious issues from 1975 to 1978 are worth looking for, and early issues in good condition often sell for $30 to $100. Ordinary issues from the 1980s onward are worth $5 to $15, and later ones less.

Are Penthouse Forum or Penthouse Letters worth anything?

Rarely. These spin-off titles were printed in large numbers and have little collector demand. Most sell for a dollar or two in bundles.