Folder 186

Europe

Europe (Made in Holland on the rear inlay, Made in EU on the disc, EMI Uden ring, BEL/BIEM/ S.I.A.E.)

Catalogue: 7243 4 96864 0 3 / UK: 496 8640
Label: EMI
Released: 1998 per the disc's own copyright line (6968974, the Mediamotion repress, is undated on Discogs)
Confidence: Confirmed
Why this grade
Europe, EMI Uden-made 1998 remaster with the IMC666 multimedia sticker. The ring reads EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL with mastering SID IFPI L047, and in the master exactly two rows record that stamper code: 9864874 (Europe, 1998, Variant 9, EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL, IFPI L047, mould ifpi 15F7) and 6968974 (Europe, undated repress, Variant 5, same ring, IFPI L047, mould SID entered as none). The other 1998 remaster rows fall away on the ring: 7097147 records EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 only with hyphenated 1-x-x tails and never 010420, and its rights society is plain bel/BIEM where this disc prints BEL/BIEM/ S.I.A.E.; 394571 records 1-2-1-NL, 1-1-8-NL and 1-1-7-NL tails with no 010420; 13974018 is an EMI Swindon ring, 10366435 and 7400798 an Optimal Media ring, 6774463 an imsgroup.it ring. The two survivors share catalogue number, barcode 7 24349 68640 3, UK: 496 8640, PM 520, LC 0542, BEL/BIEM/S.I.A.E., Made in EU on the disc and Made in Holland on the back, so none of the printed matter chooses between them, and the IMC666 sticker is recorded on 9864874 but 6968974's entry says nothing either way, which is silence rather than a difference. The mould SID is what would decide it (ifpi 15F7 against none recorded) and it sits on the inner hub band, which no frame in the folder shows. The owner's note quotes the back-cover barcode and the ring string; both were checked against IMG_3971, IMG_3977, IMG_3978, IMG_3980 and IMG_3981 and agree with the photographs, but the note decided nothing here because the photographs already carry every string it names. The version list is incomplete by construction, so a third row cannot be excluded. - Confirmed by the owner, checked by eye against Discogs release 6968974 on 2026-09-27; that decision supersedes the narrowing above.
Reference: Discogs 6968974
Median sale: DKK 45
Sale range: DKK 22-174
On sale now: 11, from DKK 45
Last sold: 17 July 2026

What the record says

Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.

Read off the play side's inner mirror ring under raking light, in separate frames rather than one: IMG_3977 carries EMI UDEN 4968640 (there is a square blank mark before EMI), IMG_3978 continues 4968640 @ 1 and then two blank rectangular marks, IMG_3980 carries the mastering SID IFPI L047 on the band beside it, and IMG_3981 carries the stamper code 010420-NL. Put together, the ring is EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL; that order rests on the frames being successive stretches of one circular band, and on the owner's note giving the same order, since no single frame spans the joins. IFPI L047 is a mastering SID, not part of the matrix string, and is left out of ring=. No frame shows a mould SID, so none is read.

EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL — this copy's ring IS Variant 5 of the 5 matrix entries Discogs records.

Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout

As Discogs records them for release 6968974. Green: in my collection (2 of 5). Red: missing.

✗	Matrix / Runout (Variants 1, 9)	`EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010416-NL`
✗	Matrix / Runout (Variant 2, 4, 11)	`EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010418-NL`
✗	Matrix / Runout (Variant 3, 7, 8)	`EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010421-NL`
✓	Matrix / Runout (Variant 5)	`EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL` — this copy
✓	Matrix / Runout (Variants 6, 10, 12 to 15)	`EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010503` — copy 94

Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 8 of them

Front of the case: Iron Maiden SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON, a round black sticker over the artwork reading SPECIAL MULTIMEDIA CD FEATURES FULL-LENGTH VIDEOS, EXCLUSIVE BAND BIOGRAPHIES, PHOTO GALLERIES, INTERNET LINKS AND MUCH MORE... PC/MAC COMPATIBLE IMC666, and enhanced CD on the spine

IMG_3970.jpeg

Back inlay: barcode block 7243 4 96864 0 3 above 7 24349 68640 3, F: PM 520, UK: 496 8640, MADE IN HOLLAND, an empty I: box, Place of manufacture as stated on label Marketed and Distributed by EMI and an enhanced CD logo; tracklist MOONCHILD to ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

IMG_3971.jpeg, IMG_3972.jpeg

Disc face: 7243 4 96864 0 3, BEL/BIEM/ S.I.A.E., EMI, Digitally remastered, the copyright line 1998 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd. © 1998 Iron Maiden Holdings Ltd., then LC 0542 MADE IN EU.

IMG_3973.jpeg

Printed panel with the iceberg artwork carrying 7243 4 96864 0 3 in black type

IMG_3974.jpeg

Inner mirror ring, first stretch: EMI UDEN 4968640 after a square blank mark, read at native resolution

IMG_3977.jpeg

Inner mirror ring, next stretch: 4968640 @ 1 followed by two blank rectangular marks

IMG_3978.jpeg

Mastering SID on the inner band: IFPI L047

IMG_3980.jpeg

Stamper code on the inner band: 010420-NL

IMG_3981.jpeg

The photographs

IMG_3970.jpg1 of 9READ FROM

The object, and what marks it out

Sleeve, labels and inserts

Jewel case with a clear tray and a booklet, with the round IMC666 multimedia sticker on the front of the case and enhanced CD on the spine.
The disc face is printed with Eddie artwork and the title in yellow; the mirror ring is etched in the clear inner band.

What distinguishes this pressing

Europe (Made in Holland on the rear inlay, Made in EU on the disc, EMI Uden ring, BEL/BIEM/ S.I.A.E.)

Eight tracks, and the recording credits

Tracks 1-4

1Moonchild
2Infinite Dreams
3Can I Play With Madness
4The Evil That Men Do

Tracks 5-8

5Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
6The Prophecy
7The Clairvoyant
8Only The Good Die Young

Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar, synth · Steve Harris - bass, string synth · Nicko McBrain - drums.

Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York. Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich. Sleeve illustration, concept and design by Derek Riggs (with Rod Smallwood). Inner-sleeve photograph by Ross Halfin. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.

Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 576952, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. Where this copy's own packaging carries the producer, publisher or copyright lines, they are quoted in the evidence above.

Condition, from the photographs

A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.

Case/inlay: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no cracks or splits visible in these shots.
Disc: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches or disc-face damage in these photographs.

Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.

What is settled, and what is not

Confirmed by the owner on 2026-09-27, checked by eye against Discogs release 6968974. The reasoning below is what stood before that.

Two Europe rows are left and the photographs cannot pick between them. The ring EMI UDEN 4968640 @ 1 010420-NL with IFPI L047 is recorded on both 9864874, the 1998 pressing (mould ifpi 15F7), and 6968974, the later repress (mould SID entered as none), and every printed detail on the case and disc is the same on both. The mould SID sits on the inner hub, which is not in any frame here. A raking-light macro of the hub band would settle it: ifpi 15F7 points to 9864874, an AAH-style code or none at all points to 6968974.