Top 5 most expensive CS2 skins in 2024

Counter-Strike is renowned not only as a leader in esports, but also for its skin market, which has evolved into an entire industry. Even weapon skins that can be obtained from cases by any player can reach prices of hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention exclusive items with rare stickers from private collections.

Which CS2 skins are the most expensive in 2024? The portal CSGO.com has conducted an analysis.

Why Are Skins So Expensive?

To understand the often staggering prices for skins, it's essential to explain how the market determines their value. The fundamental characteristic that defines a skin's value is its rarity. Currently, there are eight rarity levels in CS2: Consumer Grade (grey), Industrial Grade (light blue), Mil-Spec (blue), Restricted (purple), Classified (pink), Covert (red), Contraband (orange), and Exceedingly Rare (gold).

Notably, the "Contraband" rarity is assigned to only one skin: the M4A4 "Howl". Initially, this skin with the "fire wolf" design was in the red category. Still, after the author was found guilty of design theft, Valve had to alter the design of existing skins and discontinue further production. Overnight, the skin's value skyrocketed – illustrating the crucial importance of rarity.

Another critical factor directly impacting the price of skins is the wear level, measured by the "float value." Wear ranges from 0.00 to 1.00, with 0.00 being the best condition and 1.00 being the worst. There are five categories based on this characteristic: Factory New (0.00-0.07), Minimal Wear (0.07-0.15), Field-Tested (0.15-0.38), Well-Worn (0.38-0.45), and Battle-Scarred (0.45-1.00).

Generally, the lower the float, the more valuable the skin. Factory New skins have a higher rarity and look better, as increased wear results in more scratches and duller colours.

A third essential characteristic is the pattern and phases. It might surprise you that the same skin can look entirely different on a weapon. Each skin can have up to 999 patterns, and knives can have various phases.

The pattern has a significant impact, especially on the "Case Hardened" skin. If a large area of the skin features a blue hue, it is considered a "blue gem" – an extremely rare and valuable variation.

In April 2023, a pair of such "blue gems" were sold for $500,000.

5) Knives with "Emerald" and "Sapphire" Phases – $11,000-$15,000

The "Emerald" and "Sapphire" phases are the most expensive variants of the "Doppler" skin for knives. Typically, the highest prices are found for the Karambit, Butterfly Knife, and M9 Bayonet. With the release of Counter-Strike 2, where these skins look even more stunning, the average market price surged to $20,000 but later stabilised to a range of $11,000 to $15,000.

Notably, there have been sales of these knives at slightly lower prices than the mentioned average, which only indicates the former owners' lack of knowledge. Now that you're informed, if you manage to acquire such a knife, you'll know its true value.

4) Sports Gloves "Vice" and "Pandora's Box" – $18,000-$61,000

Sports gloves have been part of the game since the release of this item in late 2016. The rarity of the "Vice" and "Pandora's Box" skins in Factory New condition has made these types of gloves the most expensive in the game: the price of the former is around $18,000, while the latter can reach up to $61,000, as confirmed by transactions this spring.

It is known that there are currently only 146 "Vice" gloves and 30 "Pandora's Box" gloves in Factory New condition. If you manage to get a pair from a case, consider yourself very lucky!

3) Souvenir AWP "Dragon Lore" – from $150,000

Almost every average player has heard that the "Dragon Lore" is the most expensive skin in the game. While that's not entirely accurate, the souvenir version of the AWP "Dragon Lore" indeed commands an astronomical price. The average price for a Factory New version exceeds $150,000.

Souvenir skins are particularly rare, as they can only be obtained from special packages awarded during Counter-Strike Majors. These skins come with gold stickers of team logos from the chosen match, which generally do not add significant value, but the owner of the top float value even removed them.

The fact that there are only 17 Souvenir AWP "Dragon Lore" skins in Factory New condition in the game significantly increases their value.

2) AK-47 "Case Hardened" with Pattern 661 – from $1,000,000

Yes, astronomical amounts are not only attributed to coveted knives, gloves, and "Dragon Lores". As we established earlier, certain patterns of the "Case Hardened" skin are classified as "Blue Gems", and pattern 661 for the AK-47 is one of them. Collectors are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars depending on the wear condition for this skin, where the majority of the surface is adorned with blue hues.

If this skin also features the expensive Titan Holo sticker, which complements it perfectly, its price can soar by an additional $70,000. It's worth noting that the sale of an AK-47 "Case Hardened" with four Titan Holo stickers for $400,000 held the record for the highest publicly known deal for a long time.

The current record belongs to a pristine and extremely unique AK-47 "Case Hardened".

1) The Most Expensive CS2 Skin: Karambit "Case Hardened" with Pattern 387 – from $1,500,000

The information on the significance of "Blue Gems" likely leads to the answer of which skin reigns as the most expensive in CS2… Yes, it's the "Case Hardened" – specifically, the rare pattern 387 for the Karambit. This is an exceedingly rare item, as there are only 9 in existence, and the chance of obtaining a similar paint pattern is 1 in 371 million.

This skin pattern gained notoriety back in 2016 when the only "Blue Gem" Factory New instance in history was purchased for slightly over $100,000 – an exorbitant sum for the skin industry at the time. However, the owner's foresight paid off: in 2021, they received a confirmed offer of $1.5 million from experts. Such a staggering offer didn't appeal to the collector, who remained open to discussion but deemed the offer "uninteresting". Nevertheless, a worthy price tag has yet to be announced.