The most expensive skin in CS:GO and CS2 is the Factory New Karambit | Case Hardened with pattern #387, the "Blue Gem" Karambit. Current valuations put it around $1.5–2 million, but no sale has been completed in recent years. The most expensive skin with a reported completed sale is a StatTrak AK-47 | Case Hardened #661 in Factory New, which was credibly reported sold for more than $1 million in June 2024.
What is the most expensive skin in CS2 and CS:GO?
It depends on whether you count valuations or completed sales. The #387 Karambit leads on value, and the AK-47 #661 leads on reported sales. Counter-Strike 2 kept the CS:GO inventory, so the same items top both lists.
| Skin | Detail | Price | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karambit | Case Hardened #387 | Factory New, the only known copy | $1.5–2M estimated | No public sale; €1.2M offer not accepted | Offer in Sept 2021 |
| AK-47 | Case Hardened #661 | StatTrak, Factory New | $1M+ | Sold privately, exact price undisclosed | June 2024 |
| AWP | Dragon Lore | 4x iBUYPOWER (Holo) Katowice 2014 stickers | $265,000 | Reported sale | Not stated |
| M4A4 | Howl | StatTrak, Factory New, 4x iBUYPOWER (Holo) stickers | About $215,000 | Appraisal, not a confirmed sale | Not stated |
Sources: Dot Esports, bo5.gg and Hotspawn. Nearly all of these deals were private, so treat the figures as reports, not exchange data. Outlets disagree too: Hotspawn says the #387 could fetch around $2.5 million.
If you mean the priciest skin you can find listed on a normal marketplace, the numbers are far lower. SkinsMonkey's tracker put Sport Gloves | Hedge Maze in Factory New at $59,005.37 on 22 October 2026, ahead of the top rifle finish, AK-47 | Wild Lotus, at $20,284.57. That is one tracker on one day, and prices move.
Key takeaway: The #387 Karambit is the most valuable skin by estimate, but nobody has paid that price in public. In September 2021, ohnePixel acted as middleman for a private offer of €1.2 million in Bitcoin for it. The offer was rejected.
Why is the Karambit Case Hardened #387 worth so much?
It combines a popular knife model, the best-known Case Hardened pattern and a single known Factory New copy. Case Hardened has 1,000 possible patterns, and a small number produce a blade dominated by vivid blue. The community calls these Blue Gems.
Pattern #387 sits alone in S-tier as the "God Tier" pattern, with essentially perfect blue coverage across the blade. Fewer than 50 Karambit Case Hardened Blue Gems exist worldwide. Only one Factory New copy of #387 exists.
Wear matters as much as the seed. A "duped" Well-Worn #387, accidentally re-created by Steam Support, sold for $118,000 in June 2023. The Factory New copy is valued at more than ten times that. Blue Gem tier lists differ between guides, so check which scheme a seller is using.
Why are AWP | Dragon Lore, M4A4 | Howl and the AK-47 #661 so expensive?
They are expensive for different reasons: pattern, supply and stickers. The AK-47 | Case Hardened #661 is the "Blue Gem" AK, valued mostly for its pattern. The AWP | Dragon Lore and M4A4 | Howl are valued for history, limited supply and sticker crafts.
- AK-47 | Case Hardened #661: the StatTrak Factory New copy is the biggest reported sale in Counter-Strike. On 5 June 2024, middlemen zipeL and roflm0nster announced they had helped sell it to an anonymous buyer. The exact price was never disclosed.
- AWP | Dragon Lore: a Covert skin from The Cobblestone Collection. Plain copies cost far less than the famous sales: on 17 October 2026, the lowest listings were $10,358 for Factory New and $4,267 for Battle-Scarred. The six-figure deals involved rare stickers, and the stickers, not the skin itself, make up most of that price.
- M4A4 | Howl: the only Contraband skin. In June 2014, Valve removed it from the Huntsman Weapon Case, changed the artwork on existing copies and gave it the new Contraband rarity. No new copies can drop, so supply is fixed.
What makes a skin expensive?
Price comes from scarcity, condition and demand. Five factors explain most of the top of the market.
- Pattern seed. This matters on Case Hardened, Fade and similar finishes. One seed can be worth thousands of times another on the same knife.
- Float (wear). Lower is better. Within Factory New, a very low float adds a premium.
- StatTrak. Only about one in ten skins drops with a kill counter, so StatTrak versions are scarcer and usually cost more.
- Stickers and Souvenir status. Rare Katowice 2014 Holo stickers can add tens of thousands of dollars each, and four on one Dragon Lore push the total into six figures. Souvenir skins come from Major match packages with that match's stickers.
- Fixed supply. Items that no longer drop, like the Howl, cannot be replaced, so price follows collector demand.
| Exterior | Float range |
|---|---|
| Factory New | 0.00–0.07 |
| Minimal Wear | 0.07–0.15 |
| Field-Tested | 0.15–0.38 |
| Well-Worn | 0.38–0.45 |
| Battle-Scarred | 0.45–1.00 |
A single "record" headline does not make a market. A skin that is expensive today can fall tomorrow.
Can you open or upgrade into a Blue Gem?
Technically yes, but the odds are tiny and you should not plan around it. Valve's rare special item (any knife or gloves) drops about 0.26% of the time, roughly 1 in 385 cases. That is before the finish, pattern seed and float are rolled.
| Rarity | Colour | Chance per Valve weapon case |
|---|---|---|
| Mil-Spec | Blue | 79.92% |
| Restricted | Purple | 15.98% |
| Classified | Pink | 3.20% |
| Covert | Red | 0.64% |
| Rare Special (knife or gloves) | Gold | 0.26% |
Rates from CSDB's odds calculator and other trackers. Estimates for a Factory New #387 from a Valve case are astronomically lower. They run from about 1 in 131 million to roughly 1 in 833 million, depending on the method.
Since October 2025 there is a second route. Valve's Trade Up Contract now accepts 5 regular Covert items for one regular knife or pair of gloves, as HLTV reported. You still do not choose the finish or pattern, so a specific Blue Gem remains a long shot.
Those figures apply to Valve's cases. Case sites set their own odds for every case and list them on the case page. On CSDROP, each case page (start with the knife cases) shows its item pool and drop rates before you open it, and cases open from your balance with no key. Results can be checked on the provably fair page. CSDROP also has an Upgrader, but an upgrade is a gamble too. Nothing changes the odds in your favour.
Note: CSDROP is for adults only (18+, or the age of majority where you live). Case openings and upgrades are games of chance with a house edge. Never stake money you cannot afford to lose, and take a break if it stops being fun.
How do you check what a skin is really worth?
Check the pattern seed, the float and recent completed sales, not only the asking price.
- Get the exact name, exterior and whether it is StatTrak or Souvenir.
- Inspect the float and pattern seed in-game or with an inspect link.
- For Case Hardened, Fade and Marble Fade, match the seed to a pattern tier list.
- Judge stickers separately from the base skin.
- Compare completed sales on several marketplaces, not only the cheapest listing.
Be cautious about "valued at" headlines. A listing or a rejected offer is not a sale, and private deals are hard to verify. Skins are not a guaranteed investment.
FAQ
What is the most expensive CS2 skin ever sold?
The largest reported sale is a StatTrak Factory New AK-47 | Case Hardened #661, sold privately for more than $1 million in June 2024. A named intermediary confirmed completion, but the exact price and receipt remain private. It is a strong report, not a public transaction record.
How much is the Karambit Blue Gem #387 worth?
Estimates in 2026 mostly range from $1.5 million to $2 million for the Factory New copy, and a few outlets go higher. No sale has been publicly confirmed. The best-known data point is a €1.2 million Bitcoin offer in September 2021 that was not accepted.
Is AWP | Dragon Lore the most expensive skin?
No. As of 17 October 2026, plain Factory New copies were listed from about $10,000. Stickered copies have reportedly sold far higher, such as $265,000 for one with four iBUYPOWER (Holo) stickers. Both are well below the #387 Karambit and the #661 AK-47.
Why is M4A4 | Howl so rare?
Howl is the only Contraband skin in the game. Valve removed it from the Huntsman Weapon Case in June 2014 over a copyright problem with its artwork, so no new copies can drop.
What are the odds of getting a knife from a case?
In Valve's weapon cases it is 0.26%, about 1 in 385 per case, and past openings do not improve it. Case sites set their own odds, so read the drop rates on the case page before you open. Valve's Trade Up Contract offers a second route: 5 Covert skins for one knife or gloves.
Do CS:GO skin prices still apply in CS2?
Yes. CS:GO inventories carried over into CS2, so it is the same items on the same market. Prices are tracked under the CS2 name now.