The consistently growing amount of skins led to their high evaluation and importance for the CS: GO community. The players passed through 9 years of skin collection updates, and nowadays, they know the most relevant trends. Expensive items such as knives, gloves, contraband-quality designs, etc., have always been the aim for many gamers, and getting the one increases the Steam inventory’s net worth.
The most expensive skins change seasonally with each significant CS: GO operation or case. However, some designs remain legendary through the ages and increase their price annually with their rarity growth. So, let’s determine the skins with the highest price in 2021 and 2022 and understand why players evaluate them highly.
What Influences the Price for CS: GO Skins?
When the first items appeared in 2013, the players didn’t pay too much attention to what developers installed the price.
But after studying the most expensive skins’ peculiarities, the community noticed some specific features influencing the cost:
- Float value (FV). It’s a skin’s wear degree that defines if it will have a brighter pattern (measured from 1, the most worn, to 0, the lowest wear grade). In some designs like “Doppler” or “Marble Fade,” the primary colors change depending on the float value. The monochromatic designs are more expensive.
- Wear value. It strictly depends on float value, and there are 5 quality rates (from lowest to highest):
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- battle-scarred (FV=0.4-1).
- well-worn (FV=0.3-0.4).
- field-tested (FV=0.3-0.1).
- minimal wear (FV=0.1-0.7).
- factory new (FV=0.07-0).
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- Quality. It’s crucial for the newly added collections, but it’s not decisive for old skins. For instance, even the consumer-grade quality items from Cobblestone or Overpass collections can cost more than covert skins of recently added skin sets. It’s because of their rarity and wide use for crafting more expensive skins.
- Stickers. There are several stickers, such as “Titan (Holo),” “Howl,” or “iBUYPOWER (Holo),” that can significantly increase the gun’s price. Their rarity (added in 2014) defines their high price and influences the cost of the most expensive skins.
Combining the listed characteristics helps make a detailed research of various skins and find out the ones with the highest price.
Top 5 Expensive Skins in 2021
The primary factor to the most expensive skins ranking was the average annual lot’s price on various CS: GO market platforms. Each item has a very high cost and is purchased by rich players in the auctions. The designs from 2021, “Operation Riptide” and “Snakebite,” are not present in the list.
| Skin’s Name | Collection/Case | Price |
| StatTrak M4A4 “Howl” + 4 Titan (Holo) Katowice 2014 stickers (FN) | Huntsman | $150,000-180,000 |
| Karambit “Case Hardened” (Blue Gem 0.006 float value) | Arms Deal | $130,000-150,000 |
| AWP “Gungnir” (FN) | Norse | $100,000-110,000 |
| Sport Gloves “Pandora Box” (MW) | Hydra and Glove | $15,000-20,000 |
| Souvenir AWP “Dragon Lore” (FN) | Cobblestone | $9,000-12,000 |
M4A4 “Howl”
It’s a legendary contraband skin that the CS: GO community has hunted since 2014. Black and dark red are the primary item colors, and the head of the howling wolf represents the central pattern. The collectors purchased the most expensive skins for M4A4 for more than $100,000.
Karambit “Case Hardened” (Blue Gem)
The skin acquires a plain light blue color (Blue gem) if its float value is lower than 0.006. Otherwise, the knife will have a standard pattern with blue, yellow, and purple stains, and its price will be no more than $1,000.
AWP “Gungnir”
The Norse collection skin is covered with a light-blue and purple pattern, decorated with white lines and spirals. Some players doubt “Gungnir” is the next legendary skin after “Dragon Lore” loses its relevance.
Sport Gloves “Pandora Box”
The gloves are made of synthetic fabric in purple and black, and the palmar surface has several dark blue spots. CS: GO players regard the “Pandora Box” most expensive skin as the best-looking design for gloves.
AWP “Dragon Lore”
Every player knows about the legendary skin from the Cobblestone collection that only the most devoted AWP lovers have in their inventories. The skin is gold, and the central pattern is a red fire-breathing dragon. Souvenir AWP “Dragon Lore” has been the most expensive skin for a long time until the others grew in popularity.
Top 5 Expensive Skins in 2022
The 2022 trends are slightly different, but the algorithm for choosing the most expensive skins remains the same. Here, you can find the skins with the highest average price on markets in 2022.
| Skin’s Name | Collection/Case | Price |
| AK-47 “Wild Lotus” + 4 Reason (Holo) Katowice 2014 stickers (FN) | St. Marc | $140,000-150,000 |
| AWP “Silk Tiger” + 4 Team LDLC.com (Holo) Katowice 2014 stickers (FN) | Havoc | $85,000-90,000 |
| AK-47 “Case Hardened” + 4 Titan (Holo) Katowice 2014 sticker (#661 pattern) | Arms Deal | $30,000-40,000 |
| StatTrak Karambit “Crimson Web” (FN) | Arms Deal | $12,000-15,000 |
| Specialist Gloves “Crimson Kimono” (FN) | Hydra | $9,000-10,000 |
AK-47 “Wild Lotus”
The community highly evaluated the St. Marc collection’s design because of its innovative pattern. The rifle is covered with green and decorated with orange, purple, and red flowers. The presence of the “Reason” stickers perfectly suits the design and increases the price for “Wild Lotus” skin.
AWP “Silk Tiger”
The pattern is made in blue, orange, and yellow colors and represents the tigers’ heads and paws. The factory-new item with LDLC.com stickers is one of the most expensive skins for AWP.
AK-47 “Case Hardened” (#661)
The “Blue Top” 661 design has light blue color prevailing on the weapon’s frame. It’s the rarest float value for “Case Hardened” in CS: GO, and that’s why the price is also high.
Karambit “Crimson Web”
The famous skin represents a karambit made in bloody red and covered with the black web threats. The StatTrak factory-new skin has a high purchase price on various CS: GO markets.
Specialist Gloves “Crimson Kimono”
The pattern is similar to “Crimson Web,” but the difference is in the painting – there’s a red geometric pattern on the external and palmar surface of the gloves. Such skin is one of the pro players’ favorites.
Overall, the most expensive skins acquired their high price due to their stunning design and rarity. The listed skins were added to the rating due to their stable high cost on various platforms. They will always be an aim for skin hunters wishing to become owners of the most luxurious things in CS: GO.
