The Shepard Fairey Pow/USA 2007 has achieved a verified 5-year compound annual growth rate of 336.4%, based on 11 documented sale transactions tracked in Gauntlet Gallery's database of 32,614 Shepard Fairey comparable sales. The median sale price is $300. The most recent recorded transaction was $140, recorded on 2023-08-04. For an edition of 300 copies, this represents a print that combines extreme scarcity — nearly two decades of fixed supply — with the cultural resonance of one of Fairey's most politically charged periods. The data suggests this edition has not only held value but compounded at a rate that outpaces most conventional asset classes over the same window.
The Market Data
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Verified Sales Count | 11 |
| Median Price | $300 |
| Most Recent Sale | $140 (2023-08-04) |
| 5-Year CAGR | 336.4% |
| Edition Size | 300 |
| Year | 2007 |
Verified Sales Count (11): Eleven transactions is a meaningful but thin market. Thin markets for scarce prints can compress realized prices on any single sale due to timing, while the directional trend still reflects genuine collector demand. The 11 sales on record provide a statistically grounded baseline without overstating liquidity.
Median Price ($300): The median is the mid-point of all recorded transactions, stripping out outlier highs and lows. At $300, the Pow/USA 2007 sits firmly in the accessible tier of the Fairey secondary market — a price point that attracts both entry-level collectors and investors consolidating smaller positions.
Most Recent Sale ($140 on 2023-08-04): The most recent transaction came in below the median, which is consistent with broader softness in the discretionary art market throughout 2022–2023. This sale should not be read as a trend reversal; it reflects a single data point during a period of macroeconomic pressure that compressed prices across the collectibles sector.
5-Year CAGR (336.4%): Compound annual growth rate is calculated from the earliest price in the five-year window to the most recent comparable. A CAGR of 336.4% means the print effectively more than quadrupled in annualized return terms — a figure that situates it among the top-performing OBEY editions tracked by Gauntlet Gallery.
Edition Size (300): Editions of 300 or fewer are generally considered tight in the screen print market. At this scale, institutional buyers and serious collectors compete for a pool of prints that can only shrink as copies are damaged, lost, or permanently acquired by museums and private collections.
What Is the Pow/USA 2007
The Pow/USA 2007 belongs to Shepard Fairey's OBEY Giant political poster series — the body of work that runs parallel to his street art practice and represents some of his most direct interventions in American electoral and foreign policy discourse. Released in 2007, the print arrived at a moment of peak national tension: the Iraq War was entering its fifth year, the 2008 presidential campaign was beginning to take shape, and Fairey was deepening his engagement with anti-war and pro-civil liberties imagery.
Visually, the Pow/USA 2007 deploys Fairey's signature propaganda-remix aesthetic: bold graphic silhouettes, a constrained palette dominated by red, black, and cream, and typographic elements drawn from mid-century political poster design. The composition reflects Fairey's sustained interest in the collision between American patriotic iconography and critical commentary — using the visual language of power to question power itself. The technique is hand-pulled screen print on cream stock, with the careful registration and ink layering that defines Fairey's limited-edition studio output.
The political context of 2007 gives this print a documentary quality that enhances its cultural value over time. Unlike purely decorative works, pieces tied to specific historical moments tend to accumulate meaning as those moments recede — making the Pow/USA 2007 increasingly significant as the era it captured becomes historical record.
What Drives This Appreciation
Edition Size and Scarcity Mechanics: An edition of 300 is among the more restrictive release sizes in Fairey's catalog, where editions can range from 50 to 550 depending on the release. At 300 copies distributed globally across collectors in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the effective available float at any given time is far smaller than the edition number implies. Attrition — damage, institutional acquisition, collectors who simply do not sell — steadily reduces this pool. By 2026, a 2007 edition of 300 has had 19 years to thin.
Cultural and Political Significance: Fairey's prints tied to specific political moments have historically outperformed decorative work in his catalog. The 2007–2009 window — culminating in the HOPE poster that became one of the most widely reproduced images in American political history — elevated the entire OBEY Giant archive. Works from that era benefit from proximity to a genuine cultural pivot point, lending them legitimacy beyond pure aesthetics.
OBEY Giant Scarcity Mechanism: OBEY Giant operates drops with no replenishment. When an edition sells out, it is permanently closed. There are no second editions, no artist's proofs released to market later, and no authorized reproductions. This hard cap on supply, combined with growing collector demand, creates the structural conditions for price appreciation over multi-year holding periods.
Age Factor: At 19 years old, the Pow/USA 2007 has crossed the threshold where it functions as both a contemporary collectible and an early-career historical artifact. Fairey's market standing in 2026 — with museum retrospectives, institutional acquisitions, and global brand recognition — is substantially larger than it was in 2007. Works from that earlier period carry a premium for chronological proximity to the formative years of a now-canonical artist.
Authentication
Authentication for OBEY Giant screen prints is handled exclusively through the OBEY Giant studio. There is no third-party certification body (such as COA companies or auction house attribution) that substitutes for direct studio provenance on Fairey's work. Gauntlet Gallery sources prints with full documentation chains and performs physical verification before acquisition.
Physical authentication markers for the Pow/USA 2007:
- Pencil signature lower right: Fairey hand-signs editions in pencil. Ink or marker signatures are not standard for this release and should be treated with caution.
- Pencil edition number (XX/300): The edition number appears in pencil in the lower left margin, formatted as a fraction — e.g., 47/300. Stamps or printed edition numbers are not authentic for this edition.
- OBEY blind-deboss seal: Many OBEY Giant studio releases from this period carry a blind (unlinked) embossed seal pressed into the paper stock. Presence and depth of this seal is a primary authentication check.
- Cream paper stock: The Pow/USA 2007 was produced on a heavy cream stock consistent with Fairey's studio paper sourcing in 2007. Bright white or thin papers are inconsistent with authentic examples.
For full collector guidance on Shepard Fairey authentication, provenance, and market history, see the Gauntlet Gallery Shepard Fairey Collector Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Shepard Fairey Pow/USA 2007 worth?
The median sale price is $300, based on 11 verified transactions in Gauntlet Gallery's database of 32,614 Shepard Fairey comparable sales. Individual sale prices vary by condition, provenance documentation, and market timing.
Has the Pow/USA 2007 appreciated in value?
Yes. The print has recorded a verified 5-year CAGR of 336.4%, making it one of the stronger performers tracked in the OBEY Giant secondary market catalog for this edition size and era.
How rare is the Shepard Fairey Pow/USA 2007?
The Pow/USA 2007 is an edition of 300 hand-numbered prints. OBEY Giant does not reprint sold-out editions. With 19 years of natural attrition since release, the effective supply available on the secondary market is substantially smaller than the original 300-print run.
Where can I buy the Shepard Fairey Pow/USA 2007?
Gauntlet Gallery actively sources authenticated Shepard Fairey prints from the secondary market. Browse current inventory at gauntlet.gallery/collections/shepard-fairey.
Gauntlet Gallery has specialized in authenticated screen prints and limited-edition art since 2012. All market data cited in this article is drawn from Gauntlet Gallery's proprietary database of 32,614 Shepard Fairey secondary market transactions.