The Expert Guide To Selling A Banksy

While overall sales volumes for Banksy prints have fluctuated in recent years, the first half of 2025 has shown encouraging signs for sellers. The June Editions sale at Phillips confirmed that demand for his most iconic works remains strong. Earlier in the year, January’s auction season saw continued momentum at the lower- to mid-value level, unsigned examples - indicating healthy demand for more accessible entry points into Banksy’s market.

Return to Street Roots: London Zoo, Madonna and Child, and Marseille Murals

Banksy has remained publicly active over the past 12 months, reinforcing the link between his street-level interventions and market confidence. In summer 2024, his week-long London Zoo mural drop - revealing one new artwork per day - drew global press and commentary, including coverage from Sky News, where we discussed the renewed visibility it brought to his market.

This was followed in December by a timely Christmas post on his official Instagram featuring Mother and Child - a work many speculated was a reflection on religion and war. Then in early 2025, I Want to Be What You Saw in Me appeared on a wall in Marseille. MyArtBroker was cited in The Metro for commentary on the mural’s emotional tone and significance within Banksy’s evolving street practice.

Satirical, Political & Exhibition Prints: What Drives Desirability

Banksy’s print market follows clear demand patterns, with thematic content playing a central role in shaping value. Works with stark political commentary - such as Napalm, Toxic Mary, and Christ With Shopping Bags - tend to attract a more niche collector base drawn to their confrontational tone. While not necessarily undervalued, they appeal to buyers interested in the more provocative side of Banksy’s message.

In contrast, satirical prints like Donuts, Jack & Jill, and No Ball Games offer a more accessible take on consumerism and social critique, resonating with a wider audience. Similarly, the Barely Legal print set - six works originally released in conjunction with Banksy’s 2006 Los Angeles exhibition - blends irreverence with institutional recognition. While each carries different value depending on whether it is signed, unsigned, or hand-finished, the association with this key moment in Banksy’s early market has lasting appeal.

Banksy’s Highest Valued Prints

The top tier of Banksy’s print market is dominated by editions based on his most iconic murals, such as Girl With Balloon, Choose Your Weapon, NOLA, Flower Thrower, and Rude Copper. These works typically achieve the highest values across both public and private sales.

Auction Record for a Banksy Print

Artist Proofs (APs) - which make up a small fraction of certain editions - often sell at a premium due to their scarcity and distinctive traits like hand-finishing, unique colourways, or annotations. The record price for a Banksy print remains Girl With Balloon (gold) (AP), which sold for £1.1 million in 2021 - well above its £600,000 high estimate.

Signed prints consistently outperform unsigned ones, but unsigned versions still hold strong investment potential. Issued with Pest Control certificates, they appeal to a wide range of buyers entering at different price points.

Why Pest Control Authentication Matters for Banksy Prints

But! Authentication is critical. A Pest Control certificate accounts for up to half of a print’s market value - without it, many buyers won’t engage. Early editions, test proofs, and works released through Pictures on Walls (POW) often carry historical weight, but their performance on the secondary market hinges on being properly verified. Provenance matters - but certification is essential.

Browse Banksy works on the Trading Floor and learn more about long-term performance in the Banksy Investment Guide.

The chart above breaks down signed and unsigned Banksy print sales from 2020 through mid-2025, showing that while signed editions consistently achieve higher overall values, unsigned works remain a vital part of the market. The peak came in 2021, with signed prints reaching £18.6M and unsigned close behind at £14.7M. Though volumes have since declined, both segments continue to attract active demand. Signed prints, typically limited to around 150 editions, command premiums due to their rarity and the presence of Banksy’s distinctive uppercase signature - either in pencil, crayon, or integrated into the artwork. In contrast, unsigned editions are usually in runs of 600 to 750 and may include stamped signatures in black, red, or white, or be numbered only. Pest Control certification is issued for both, playing a critical role in ensuring legitimacy and buyer confidence.

For sellers, the key takeaway is that both signed and unsigned editions remain active parts of the market, with performance increasingly shaped by edition scarcity, certification, and evolving collector behaviour. While the market has moved beyond the speculative highs of 2021, today’s conditions favour well-positioned works and considered pricing - offering a more stable and strategic environment in which to transact. For a detailed overview of the different ways to approach a sale - whether through auction, private sale, or tailored placement - explore our How to Sell in the Print Market guide.

Authenticating a Banksy print is essential to preserving its value and determining it's provenance. Since 2009, this process has been managed by Pest Control - the artist’s own authentication body, set up in response to the flood of fakes and unauthorised sales that accompanied Banksy’s rapid rise in popularity. Uniquely, it remains the only entity authorised to verify genuine Banksy works, making it a cornerstone of his market.

Pest Control issues certificates of authenticity (COAs) for prints and originals, but will not authenticate street works or offer valuations. Its purpose is to protect Banksy’s intellectual property, control distribution, and moderate speculation. As the only artist-managed authentication body of its kind, it reflects the subversive brilliance that defines Banksy’s practice, offering a rare level of artist oversight in an otherwise opaque secondary market. Without a COA, a Banksy print loses significant resale value; most auction houses and reputable platforms won’t recognise the value in the work without one.

If you’re planning to sell, it’s essential to retain all purchase documentation, as this will be required for Pest Control to verify the work. To learn more about the process, visit our guide on verifying Banksy prints and Pest Control authentication and get in touch with us for more information on the process.

Condition is also a key factor in determining a Banksy print’s value - especially as many early editions, produced in the early 2000s, were created before the artist’s market fully took shape. At the time, resale potential was uncertain, and prints often changed hands informally, sometimes even gifted - echoing practices from the American Pop era. Originally sold for as little as £50–£100, many of these works were stored or framed casually, resulting in condition issues that now affect their value, despite some reaching six-figure sums.

Today, pristine condition is crucial to maintaining long-term value. During our OPEN EDITION panel on Preserving Value, experts noted that some early Banksy prints were produced on acidic paper - suggesting these works may not have been intended as enduring collectibles. This material choice, while conceptually fitting, presents conservation challenges, reminding collectors that value is tied not just to provenance but also to physical integrity.

The same panel also pointed to the irony of a market that demands “pristine” street art, despite its raw, rebellious origins. Yet as values have grown, so too have expectations around preservation. Many early prints were once kept in inexpensive clip frames; now, with values in the six figures, proper conservation - such as float mounting for deckled edges - has become essential.

At MyArtBroker, our team offers free, no-obligation valuations and works with trusted conservation specialists who can advise on restoration where appropriate. To learn more or get support, visit The Directory for expert-led services across collecting, framing, and care.

How a Free Valuation Works

At MyArtBroker, our specialists offer free, data-led valuations, providing clarity and confidence in today’s market. Through our online Trading Floor, sellers gain access to real-time insights into works by the artist they wish to sell - including those currently in demand, listed for sale, or actively wanted - making our valuations fully transparent and market-aligned.

MyPortfolio, our complimentary collection management tool, also gives sellers access to our full print market database. This includes past auction histories, hammer prices, and seller returns for your specific work. In a market that’s constantly shifting, access to this kind of historical data - often paywalled elsewhere - is invaluable. Combined with expert guidance, it equips you to make informed decisions around value and timing.

Our approach is tailored to align with the unique attributes of each artwork, and offer optimal results:

How a Private Sale Works

Unlike general peer-to-peer platforms, which often lack the expertise and structure required for high-value artworks, MyArtBroker facilitates private sales with full transparency, legal protection, and logistical support. We charge sellers 0% commission and instead take a small fee from the buyer - covering marketing, shipping, and insurance at no cost to the seller.

We operate as a lean, specialist platform, meaning lower overheads and better returns for our clients. Revenue is generated solely through individually negotiated buyer-side fees. By focusing on works valued above £10,000, we ensure your artwork receives the tailored attention it deserves - maximising visibility, care, and ultimately, the final sale result. For lower-value works, we offer honest, no-obligation advice on the most suitable route to market.

Advisory and Recommendations

In cases where a work may not align with our existing collector network - due to value, medium, or condition - we draw on a wider circle of trusted partners to support a successful sale. This approach is tailored to the unique attributes of each artwork, ensuring it reaches the right audience and performs as strongly as possible in today’s selective market.

Recommendations are made on a case-by-case basis and are part of our free advisory service. Whether we manage the sale directly or point you toward the best route, our goal is to help you find the right buyer and the right moment for your artwork.