Counter-Strike as a franchise emerged from a mod for Half-Life and turned into something monumental, a game with its own ecosystem and gigantic skin market. The economy around CS2 skins is now worth more than many competitive cryptocurrencies, thanks to an enormous player base that keeps on trading skins and upgrading their inventories. Within 10 years the skin market birthed a substantial CS2 skins value, with a number of record-braking deals that will blow your mind. If you’re interested in expensive CS2 skins, then you’ll appreciate today’s blog post dedicated to the top 10 most expensive deals made in recent Counter-Strike history.
Top 10 Most Expensive Skins Ever Sold
While the skins mentioned in the list might not have been as expensive from the jump, certain aspects about these skins make them extremely rare and expensive. Certain patterns, like Blue Gem, make the skin worth 10-100x more its original price, and in other cases skins can cost significantly more if they have an expensive sticker applied on their surface. We’ll go over the story behind the price of each skin below:
1. Karambit | Case Hardened (Blue Gem) - $1.5 Million
The notorious Blue Gem Karambit is the undisputed king of all CS-related transactions, raking up the astounding figure of $1.5+, making it the most expensive skin ever. The 387 pattern is known for the playside of the blade covered entirely in the various shades of blue color. These knives are expensive as is, and this particular pattern is the most sought after. This knife belongs to a Chinese collector who takes pride in its rare possession and even gave himself the “Blue King” moniker.
2. AK-47 | Case Hardened (661 Pattern) - $1 Million
Yet another Blue Gem in our list, the infamous pattern 661 is the second most sought after skin in the game, and also the second most expensive. All visible metal parts are covered in blue, including the dustcover, receiver, magazine and barrel. What made the recent trade this expensive is the presence of four Titan Holo stickers, each costing around astounding $100,000-$150,000. The 661 trade is the most expensive non-knife trade in Counter-Strike history. 3. Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore - $260,000
You might wonder why the AWP Dragon Lore is ranked so high in this list, as these skins usually cost from $8,000 up to $20,000. Here’s the deal, the Souvenir version of the Dragon Lore drops only during major tournaments, meaning that its rarity is significantly higher. The most expensive recorded AWP Dragon Lore decorated with 4 iBuyPower Holo stickers was sold for $265,000 in June 2023 to an anonymous Chinese enthusiast.
4. M4A4 | Howl - $100,000
The M4A4 Howl is known for being the only “Contraband” skin in the game, due to the copyright dispute that made it so infamous. Originally, this skin was community-made and accepted to the game, but later on, it turns out that the skinmaker stole the artwork of a wolf depicted on the side of the skin, so Valve had to redesign this skin, while taking it out of circulation and giving it the “Contraband” status. While it is surely rare, the most expensive version of Howl was sold back in 2020 to a Chinese collector, who paid $100,000 for the StatTrak version with, once again, 4 iBuyPower Katowice 2014 stickers.
5. Sport Gloves | Pandora's Box - $55,000
One of the most expensive gloves are the Pandora’s Box Sport Gloves, known for its extremely vibrant color palette, heavily inspired by 80’s Miami aesthetic and retrowave. A Factory New pair can be sold for upwards of $55,000. If you’re a fan of Hotline Miami and also happen to be extremely rich, go ahead and get a pair of “Pandora’s”, one of s1mple’s favorite pairs of gloves.
6. AWP | Gungnir - $74,000
The AWP | Gungnir, from the Norse Collection, has swiftly become one of the most important and popular skins in the game, quickly acquiring the cultlike status similar to that of the Dragon Lore. It is extremely beautiful with intricate metalwork patterns and an eclectic blue-ivory two-tone colorway. What makes it more unique is that even the Field-Tested version looks as detailed and colorful as the Factory New version. While the Field-Tested quality goes for around $8-10 thousand, the #1 lowest float in the world Gungnir was sold in 2024 for astounding $74,000.
7. AK-47 | Wild Lotus - $20,000
The AK-47 | Wild Lotus is one of the most beautiful rifle skins in CS history, thanks to its unique green base color and gorgeous red floral pattern covering the entire body of the rifle. These skins are extremely rare, which is translated to its enormous price that starts from $20,000. The reason for the skin’s exclusivity lies in the simple fact that the St. Marc collection was exclusive to players who bought an Operation Shattered Web pass and was available for a limited time of the operation’s duration.
8. AK-47 | Gold Arabesque - $7,000-$12,000
If you want to look like an absolute G with a golden AK-47, be prepared to spend around $6-7 thousand for a non-Souvenir Factory New model. The Souvenir version comes in Field-Tested quality and currently cost way less, so you can buy one for around $1-2 thousand thanks to the recent price drop caused by the implementation of Trade Protection.
9. Karambit | Doppler Sapphire - $10,000
The Doppler is one of the most unique colorways in CS2, thanks to the variety of colorways one can get from the same knife skin. There are two most popular and most exclusive Doppler patterns, the "Sapphire" and the "Ruby". As you might have guessed, the sapphire is more on the blue-purple side, while the Ruby is a bright red one. Due to its exclusivity and the wow factor, the Sapphire Doppler for both Karambit and M9 Bayonet starts from around $9,5 thousand and goes up, despite the recent price drops.
10. StatTrak™ M9 Bayonet | Crimson Web (Factory New) - $11,000
Arguably the coolest knife in our list, the StatTrak version of M9 Bayonet Crimson Web features a black spider web on the crimson red playside of the blade. The visuals of this pattern make the knife stand out from the rest, especially if one manages to unbox/purchase a Factory New version equipped with StatTrak. Currently, these knives go for around $11,000, but allegedly, back in the CS:GO times, one of these was sold for an astounding $24,000.
The Most Sought-After AWP Skins
The two undisputedly most popular AWP skins are the Dragon Lore and the Gungnir. These two AWP skins put the Counter-Strike franchise on the map even for those who have never played the game in their life. These AWP skins served as a weapon of choice in some of the most iconic esports moments in the game’s history, and their insane pricing perfectly reflects the cool factor they offer.