Banksy ‘Choose Your Weapon’: A Buyer’s Guide to the Dog Series

Few Banksy images draw new collectors in quite like Choose Your Weapon. The barking dog is instantly legible, often blazing with colour, and it carries a wink toward one of the most beloved figures in twentieth-century art. But the moment you start shopping for one, the simple picture gets complicated fast.

How many colourways are there? Why do two prints that look almost identical sell for wildly different sums? What does “signed” really buy you over “unsigned”? And how do you keep from overpaying for a variant that is more common than the seller wants you to believe? These are the questions a real buyer asks at the moment of decision, and they are the questions this guide sets out to answer.

At Gauntlet Gallery we have walked many first-time and seasoned collectors through this exact series. What follows is an educational, collectors-first walk-through: the homage behind the image, the maze of variants, the signed-versus-unsigned question, rarity and demand, condition, and the authentication and pitfall checklist that should anchor every purchase. None of this is investment advice, and none of it promises what any print will be worth tomorrow. It is meant to help you buy with your eyes open.

What Is ‘Choose Your Weapon’, and Why the Keith Haring Dog?

Choose Your Weapon depicts a hooded figure — a recurring Banksy archetype, the anonymous urban everyman — walking a dog on a lead. The dog is not just any dog. It is a near-direct quotation of Keith Haring’s “Barking Dog,” one of the most reproduced pictograms in modern art: the crouching, open-mouthed animal that Haring drew on subway walls and turned into a global symbol in the 1980s.

The title does the heavy lifting. “Choose your weapon” reframes a friendly art-historical icon as something with teeth. Read one way, it is a homage from one street artist to another — Banksy nodding to a predecessor who took art out of the gallery and onto the street, and who fused activism with mass-reproducible imagery. Read another way, it is a comment on co-option: an icon of radical, generous public art repurposed as an accessory, a status object, even a threat. Banksy lets both readings sit side by side, which is part of why the image rewards a second look.

An icon that began as free public art, redrawn as something you walk on a lead — the image asks what we do with the symbols we inherit.

For a buyer, the Haring connection matters for two practical reasons. First, it gives the work cultural depth that collectors of both artists appreciate, which has historically supported steady interest in the series. Second, it means the image carries weight beyond Banksy’s usual satire — it is a conversation between two artists, and that lineage is part of what you are acquiring. As always, cultural significance is not a price guarantee; it is context.

The Editions: Screenprints, Release Windows, and the Studio Behind Them

The Choose Your Weapon prints were produced as screenprints associated with Banksy’s print output of the late 2000s, released through the channels collectors know from that era — principally Pictures on Walls (POW), the print house long linked with Banksy’s editions. The series is notable not for a single tidy edition but for the sheer breadth of colour variants that emerged, which is exactly why buyers get confused.

Signed and unsigned runs

As with many Banksy images from this period, Choose Your Weapon exists in both signed and unsigned forms. Signed examples were typically issued in smaller, numbered runs and command a clear premium. Unsigned examples were issued in larger numbers and sit at a more accessible level. The exact edition sizes vary by colourway and by signed/unsigned status, and this is precisely the kind of detail you should never take on a seller’s word — verify each specific example against Pest Control records and recent comparable sales before you commit.

A note on dates and numbers

You will see various release dates and edition figures quoted around this series. Because so many colourways exist, and because some were small special releases, it is easy for sellers (even well-meaning ones) to mix details up. We deliberately avoid stating precise edition counts and dates for every variant here, because the responsible thing is for you to confirm the figures for the specific print in front of you rather than rely on a generalisation. Treat any number you read — including in a listing — as a claim to be checked, not a fact.

The Colourways: How to Navigate the Many Variants

This is the heart of the series and the part that trips up the most buyers. Choose Your Weapon was released across a striking number of background colourways — a spectrum of bold, saturated hues that turn the same composition into what feels like a whole family of prints. Some colours appeared in larger quantities; others were comparatively scarce special editions; and a few specific palettes have historically drawn more competition than others.

Why the colour matters so much

• Rarity differs by colour. Two prints can share the identical image and the identical signed status, yet differ in value because one background colour was produced in far smaller numbers than another.
• Demand differs by colour. Aesthetic preference is real money here. Certain palettes are simply more sought-after, and that pushes their comparable sales above more plentiful colours.
• Special releases exist. Some colourways were tied to particular events or smaller runs. These can carry a premium — but only if you can confirm the variant is what the seller claims.

How to actually navigate it

1. Identify the exact colourway first. Before anything else, pin down the background colour and confirm it matches a documented variant. Colour names in listings are inconsistent, so compare against verified references and Pest Control documentation rather than the seller’s adjective.
2. Match the colour to its edition status. A given colour may exist signed, unsigned, or both. Establish which you are looking at, because that single distinction can change the value bracket dramatically.
3. Build a comp set within the same colourway. Do not price a rare colour off sales of a common one. Find recent comparable sales of the same colour in the same signed/unsigned status and similar condition. That is your only honest pricing anchor.
4. Beware colour-shift from photography. Screen calibration, lighting, and editing can make a background look like a different (and rarer) variant than it is. Always ask for daylight photos and, where possible, a colour reference in the frame.

With this series, “a Choose Your Weapon” is almost a meaningless description. The colour, the edition status, and the numbering together define what you are actually buying.

The practical takeaway: never let a seller flatten the series into a single price. The range from a common unsigned colour to a scarce signed one is wide, and that spread is entirely legitimate — it just requires you to do the matching work.

Signed vs Unsigned: What You Are Really Paying For

The signed-versus-unsigned question recurs across the entire Banksy print market, and Choose Your Weapon is a textbook case. Here is how to think about it without overpaying or underestimating.

What a signature adds

• Smaller run. Signed editions are typically more limited than their unsigned counterparts, so scarcity alone supports a premium.
• The artist’s hand. Many collectors place real value on the physical mark of the artist, and signed examples have historically commanded materially higher prices.
• Numbering and presentation. Signed examples are usually pencil-numbered, which collectors weigh alongside the signature.

What an unsigned print offers

• Access. Unsigned examples are the entry point to owning this image at a more approachable level, and they are no less “real” Banksy prints for lacking a signature.
• The same image. You get the identical composition and, often, the same colourways — the difference is the run size and the autograph, not the artwork.
• Cleaner authentication math in some cases. Authenticity still runs through Pest Control regardless, but you are paying less for the same verification process.

For a deeper treatment of the price mechanics, our editorial post on signed versus unsigned Banksy prints walks through the dynamics across multiple images. For Choose Your Weapon specifically, the rule of thumb is simple: decide whether you are buying primarily for the image (unsigned can be ideal) or for the artist’s hand and scarcity (signed), and then price strictly within that lane.

Rarity and Demand: Reading the Market Honestly

Choose Your Weapon sits among Banksy’s more recognisable images, and recognisability tends to support broad, durable interest. But “famous image” and “rare print” are not the same thing, and conflating them is how buyers overpay.

Where the rarity actually lives

Rarity in this series is driven by the intersection of three factors:

• Colourway scarcity — some backgrounds were produced in far smaller quantities than others.
• Signed vs unsigned — signed runs are smaller across the board.
• Survivorship and condition — how many examples of a given variant remain in genuinely strong condition, which shrinks the meaningful supply of top examples.

Demand, meanwhile, ebbs and flows with the broader Banksy market, with general appetite for street art, and with the cyclical attention that any blue-chip name attracts. It is fair to say the image has historically held a loyal following, and many collectors value the Haring homage as a distinguishing feature. It is not fair — or accurate — to promise where prices go next. Markets move in both directions, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

Fame supports demand; scarcity supports price; condition decides which examples actually capture that price. You need all three lenses at once.

How to gauge demand before you buy

1. Look at velocity, not just headline prices. Are examples of your specific variant actually changing hands, or are they sitting unsold? Thin trading can make a single high result misleading.
2. Compare like with like. Build your view from recent comparable sales of the same colourway and edition status, not from the most flattering outlier.
3. Watch the spread between asking and achieved prices. A wide gap between what sellers ask and what buyers pay is a signal to slow down and negotiate.

We always counsel collectors to buy the image they love at a price supported by current comps — not on a forecast. The collectors who are happiest years later are usually the ones who bought something they wanted to live with.

Condition: The Quiet Driver of Value

With a screenprint, condition is not a footnote — it is often the single biggest reason two otherwise-identical examples sell at different levels. Choose Your Weapon, with its bold flat colour fields, is particularly unforgiving: blemishes that might hide on a busier image can stand out against a clean coloured ground.

What to inspect

• Fading and colour shift. Saturated inks can fade with light exposure. Compare the background against verified references; a washed-out field is a value and authenticity concern.
• Paper tone and foxing. Look for yellowing, brown spotting (foxing), or a tide line from past moisture or acidic framing.
• Handling marks. Creases, corner dings, soft bends, and surface scuffs all matter, especially across the flat colour.
• Edges and margins. Trimmed margins, pinholes, or tape residue reduce desirability. Full original margins are preferred.
• Light- and mat-burn. A visible rectangle where an old mat sat, or a darkened border, indicates poor past framing.
• Restoration and backing. Ask whether the sheet has been flattened, bleached, or laid down. Disclosed, professional conservation is one thing; hidden intervention is another.

How to read a condition report

A proper condition report describes the sheet under normal and raking light, notes the margins, and flags any restoration. Treat a report as second-layer, supporting evidence — useful, but never a replacement for authentication through Pest Control. Insist on high-resolution images of all four corners, the full sheet, and any noted flaw. If a seller cannot or will not provide them, that absence is itself information.

Authentication: Pest Control Is the Authority

This is the section to read twice. For Banksy, authentication runs through one body and one body only: Pest Control, the artist’s official handling and authentication service. No gallery, dealer, auction house, or certificate from any other source can substitute for it.

How it works in practice

• Pest Control is the authority. A Banksy print intended for the secondary market is generally expected to carry, or be eligible for, Pest Control authentication. Their documentation — historically issued with a Certificate of Authenticity and associated security features — is the reference point the market trusts.
• A dealer or gallery COA is supporting evidence only. A reputable seller’s own paperwork, provenance notes, and condition report add useful context, but they are second-layer documentation. They corroborate; they do not authenticate. If a listing leans on a gallery COA while staying vague about Pest Control, slow down.
• Provenance helps but does not authenticate. A clean ownership history, original purchase records, and prior auction appearances all build confidence, yet none of them replace the official process.

For Banksy, the question is never “does it have a certificate?” It is “is it authenticated by Pest Control?” Everything else is supporting evidence.

Your authentication checklist

1. Confirm Pest Control status. Establish whether the specific example is authenticated by Pest Control and ask to see the corresponding documentation referencing this exact print.
2. Match the paperwork to the sheet. Ensure any certificate corresponds to the actual print in hand — correct image, correct edition status, correct numbering — not a generic document.
3. Treat seller COAs as secondary. Welcome them as added context, but never let them stand in for Pest Control.
4. Verify against records and comps. Cross-check the stated edition details against documented references and recent comparable sales. Inconsistencies are a red flag.
5. When in doubt, pause. If authentication cannot be satisfactorily established, the responsible move is to walk away. There will be another example.

If you want the full mechanics of how the service operates, our editorial library covers the Pest Control process in detail. The short version for any Choose Your Weapon buyer: make Pest Control the first question you ask, not the last.

Buyer Pitfalls: The Mistakes We See Most

Most of the trouble buyers run into with this series is avoidable. Here are the recurring pitfalls and how to sidestep them.

1. Paying a rare-colour price for a common colour

Because the colourways look superficially similar and listings use inconsistent colour names, buyers sometimes pay a premium for a background that is actually one of the more plentiful variants. Always confirm the exact colourway and price it against comps of that same colour.

2. Trusting a signature over authentication

A pencil signature is desirable, but it is also forgeable. Never let an autograph substitute for Pest Control authentication. A signed-but-unverified sheet is riskier, not safer.

3. Ignoring condition on a bold image

Fading, foxing, and handling marks show badly against flat colour fields. A “great deal” on a faded or trimmed example is often no deal at all. Demand full corner-to-corner images and a written condition note.

4. Over-reading a single auction result

One eye-catching hammer price does not set the market for your variant, especially if trading is thin. Look at a cluster of recent comparable sales and at how reliably examples actually sell.

5. Vague provenance and rushed deadlines

Pressure tactics — “another buyer is waiting,” “today only” — are reasons to slow down, not speed up. So is a seller who cannot explain where the print has been. Insist on a clear ownership trail and time to verify.

6. Mismatched paperwork

A certificate that does not specifically correspond to the print in hand — wrong edition status, wrong numbering, generic wording — is a serious warning. Documentation must match the actual sheet.

Questions Buyers Ask

How Gauntlet Gallery Approaches This

Gauntlet Gallery was founded in 2012 in San Francisco on a collectors-first principle: transparency and education before the sale. With a series as variant-heavy as Choose Your Weapon, that means we lead with the questions a buyer should be asking — which exact colourway, signed or unsigned, what condition, and above all what the authentication picture looks like through Pest Control.

We treat Pest Control as the authority it is, we present dealer documentation and condition reports honestly as supporting evidence rather than substitutes, and we price against current comparable sales rather than hopeful forecasts. We will tell you when a colourway is common, when condition is a concern, and when the responsible move is to wait for a better example. We never make promises about future value, because no one honestly can.

This article is educational and does not constitute investment, financial, or authentication advice. Market references are historical and illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results. Always verify any specific Banksy print’s details and authenticity against Pest Control and current comparable sales before purchasing.