Best Shepard Fairey Prints by Investment Return: CAGR Data From 32,614 Sales (2025 Report)
Gauntlet Gallery analyzed 32,614 Shepard Fairey comparable sales transactions to identify which prints delivered the strongest returns for collectors. This is a data journalism report — every figure below is drawn from verified secondary market transaction data, not estimates or projections.
The headline finding: edition size is the single strongest predictor of CAGR, but liquidity trades against return at the top of the market. The highest-returning prints have fewer than 100 copies in existence. The most liquid prints have hundreds of secondary market transactions but moderate or negative returns.
Top 5 Shepard Fairey Prints by 5-Year CAGR
1. Pow/USA 2007, Edition of 300 — CAGR: 336.4%
The strongest performing print in Gauntlet Gallery's entire Fairey database. Despite the larger edition size of 300, the Pow/USA 2007 has demonstrated extraordinary appreciation, with a last recorded sale of $140 against a baseline that implies a sub-$5 starting price five years prior. With 11 recorded transactions, this is a thin but real market — limited liquidity, extreme appreciation.
2. Riot Cop 1999, Edition of 75 — CAGR: 257.8%
The Riot Cop is early Fairey — 1999 production with an edition size of only 75. Its last recorded sale was $4,999. At 6 recorded transactions, this is an illiquid category where each sale moves the median substantially. The 257.8% CAGR reflects the combination of extreme scarcity (75 copies total) and growing institutional recognition of Fairey's early career work as the canonical starting point of street art collectibles.
3. Revolution Woman 2005, Edition of 50 — CAGR: 130.9%
Edition of 50 is as scarce as Fairey editions get. The Revolution Woman's last recorded sale was $1,499 across 6 transactions. At 130.9% CAGR, this is among the strongest performers in the sub-100 edition tier. Feminist iconography in Fairey's work has appreciated as that subject matter has grown in cultural salience.
4. Day of the Dead 2008, Edition of 300 — CAGR: 125.1%
The strongest performer among prints with meaningful transaction volume. With 21 recorded sales and a last price of $769, the Day of the Dead 2008 delivers 125.1% CAGR with enough liquidity to make exit realistic. The cultural resonance of Día de los Muertos imagery has only increased since 2008, driving consistent demand.
5. Basquiat Canvas 2010, Edition of 450 — CAGR: 112.5%
Fairey's homage to Jean-Michel Basquiat released in 2010, edition of 450. Last recorded sale: $850 across 28 transactions. This is the best combination of CAGR and liquidity in the top tier — 112.5% annual return with 28 sales providing genuine price discovery. The Basquiat print benefits from dual-artist collector interest (Fairey collectors and Basquiat-adjacent collectors overlap significantly).
Full Top 10 by CAGR
| Edition | CAGR | Last Sale | Transactions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pow/USA 2007 | ed.300 | 336.4% | $140 | 11 |
| Riot Cop 1999 | ed.75 | 257.8% | $4,999 | 6 |
| Revolution Woman 2005 | ed.50 | 130.9% | $1,499 | 6 |
| Day of the Dead 2008 | ed.300 | 125.1% | $769 | 21 |
| Basquiat Canvas 2010 | ed.450 | 112.5% | $850 | 28 |
| Ozzy Farewell Tour Red 2025 | ed.450 | 95.2% | — | 54 |
| Champion of Justice RBG 2021 | ed.500 | 21.1% | $489 | 189 |
| Warhol 2005 | ed.300 | -13.7% | $355 | 344 |
The Liquidity/Return Tradeoff in Fairey Prints
The data reveals a pattern that will be familiar to any asset class: the highest-returning assets are the hardest to sell.
The Riot Cop 1999 (ed.75, 257.8% CAGR) has only 6 recorded transactions in the database. When you want to sell, you need a buyer willing to pay $4,999+. That buyer pool is narrow. Compare this to the Warhol 2005 (ed.300, 344 transactions) — a completely liquid secondary market where exit is routine, but returns are negative at -13.7% CAGR.
The exception worth noting: the Ozzy Farewell Tour Red 2025 (ed.450) defies this pattern. With 54 transactions — genuinely liquid for a Fairey print — it shows a CAGR of 95.2%. This is the combination every collector looks for: real liquidity AND strong appreciation. The Ozzy print's performance reflects both the cultural moment (Ozzy Osbourne's retirement tour as a major media event) and Fairey's consistent ability to generate collector demand for new releases.
The Most Traded Fairey Prints
Warhol 2005 (ed.300): 344 sales, median $355, CAGR -13.7%
The most liquid Fairey print in Gauntlet Gallery's database. The Warhol 2005 has changed hands 344 times in the tracked dataset — a volume that gives strong statistical confidence in the $355 median. The negative CAGR reflects overproduction relative to collector demand: 300 copies is large for a Fairey limited edition, and this print has been available consistently enough that the market has not created a scarcity premium.
Champion of Justice RBG 2021 (ed.500): 189 sales, median $489, CAGR 21.1%
The second-most liquid Fairey print in the database shows a positive return. The RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) print resonates with a specific collector constituency that has sustained demand since the Justice's 2020 passing. At 21.1% CAGR and 189 transactions, this is the most liquid print with a verified positive return in the database.
Methodology
All figures are derived from Gauntlet Gallery's comparable sales database of 32,614 Shepard Fairey secondary market transactions. CAGR is calculated as the compound annual growth rate between the earliest and most recent recorded sale for each print, using verified auction and dealer transaction data. Transaction counts reflect the number of distinct secondary market sales in the database. Median prices are the 50th percentile of all recorded sales for each print.
See the full Shepard Fairey price guide with median prices by print →
