All Most Expensive CS2 Skins In 2023: Knives, AK-47, AWP & More

Renowned for its precise gunplay and strategic gameplay, CS:GO was a first-person shooter game that also gave rise to a thriving in-game skin and accessory market. Players can display a wide range of personalization options, from knives and weapons to character cosmetics, badges, cases, and stickers.

Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) has now superseded CS:GO, but all skins from the former game are still valid, and the news of the sequel drove up the cost of skins even further. But after the game’s official release, there was a huge market collapse.

If you want to purchase any of these skins, you’ll probably have to utilize a third-party website like Skinport because many of them are too costly to be offered on the Steam Market due to its $2,000 price cap.

While we are focusing solely on knives and weapon skins, there is another item in Counter-Strike with extremely high prices: unique stickers. You can view our list of the most costly stickers here.

With so many skins, a new player may first be perplexed as to what exactly makes a skin desirable and why individuals are prepared to pay such a high price. Let’s examine the most costly skins in the game as of November 2023 by breaking it down.

AWP Dragon Lore in CS:GO.

One of the most costly skins in Counter-Strike: AWP Dragon Lore. Skins have no intrinsic value; they are only worth whatever a buyer is prepared to pay, and it so happens that buyers are willing to pay a lot. What, though?

The majority of skins are valuable for a variety of reasons, but the main ones include rarity, pattern type, wear level, or distinctive qualities. See below for the priciest CS2 knives and skins, along with an explanation of their high cost.

Most expensive CS2 skins (November 2023)

11. AK-47 Fire Serpent: $400-$5,000

One of the most iconic CS:GO weapon skins is the AK-47 Fire Serpent, which was first introduced in 2013 along with the Operation Bravo case.

Owing to its iconic reputation and scarcity, you should expect to pay approximately $5,000 for a StatTrack Factory New version of this skin. In fact, Skinport currently has a StatTrack FN Fire Serpent offered for about $5,000.

10. AK-47 Gold Arabesque (Souvenir) – $1,500 – $6,500

Although the Gold Arabesque skin is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching in CS2, its overstock from Souvenir cases kept its price frequently below $2,000. But ever since Dust2 was taken out of the map pool, Souvenir Gold Arabesques have become much more expensive.

Although this is less than when they peaked at over $10,000, a keepsake edition in Factory New will now cost more than $6,000.

9. AK-47 Wild Lotus: $2,500-$11,000

The Wild Lotus skin, which is part of the St. Marc collection, is extremely limited, despite being a relatively recent release from 2019. In total, there are fewer than 3,000 in circulation.

It’s also highly sought because of how great it looks. It will cost you more than $10,000 to purchase a Factory New edition of this skin. A Wild Lotus with 4 Reason Holo stickers sold for more than $160,000 in March of 2023.

8. M4A4 Howl: $3,000 – $15,000

Due to the dispute over who owns the artwork, the M4A4 Howl is the sole “Contraband” grade skin in Counter-Strike. This makes it incredibly uncommon.

Even while versions without stickers can be purchased for less than $5,000, they can cost up to $20,000 if they are Factory New and have StatTrak. And can sell for more than $100,000 if the pricey tags are added.

This is the cost that a StatTrak Factory New Howl with four iBuyPower Holo stickers went for in 2020; one is currently for sale for over $200,000. It is probably worth considerably more today.

7. Factory New Crimson Web knives: $5,000+

When they have the proper pattern, factory-new Crimson Web knives are among the most expensive.

Similar to Doppler knives, a few of Factory New, StatTrak, and correctly patterned Crimson Web knives can get over $10,000 at auction. M9 Bayonet Crimson Webs have sold for more than $14,000 in addition to Karambits. But as of right moment, one can be had for about $6,000.

Because of where the webs are located on these skins, the pattern is also significant. Additionally uncommon and indicating that very little paint is scraped off are Factory New Crimson Webs.

6. AWP Gungnir: $6,000 – $12,000

By far the most expensive AWP skin is usually the Gungnir.

As part of the Norse collection, the Gungnir skin was one of the newest additions to the CS:GO roster in 2019. The total number in circulation is about 3,300.

The cost of a Factory New edition of this skin can reach $10,000, with certain variants going for over $12,000 at the time of writing. Even a battle-scarred version can set you back thousands.

For the second most costly AWP skin, the Gungnir has decisively displaced the Desert Hydra; the top-ranked AWP skin is shown below.

5. Karambit / Butterfly / M9 Bayonet: Emerald / Sapphire – $8,000+

Doppler knives that cost the most are the sapphire, ruby, and emerald.

Doppler knives come in various phases, and some will run you about $1000. However, you will have to be ready to shell out a significant amount of money if you want a Ruby, Emerald, or Sapphire version.

Karambit, butterfly knives, and M9 bayonets in sapphire or emerald often command the greatest prices—currently over $10,000—while rubies are somewhat less expensive. These stones’ price did go up to $20,000 at one point in 2023, but it has since dropped again.

Although Ruby knives are often more affordable by a few thousand dollars, a Ruby M9 Bayonet will still set you back about $9,000 in total.

4. Sport Gloves: Vice / Pandora’s Box (Factory New): $20,000 – $40,000+

Manufacturer In May 2023, brand-new Pandora’s Box gloves brought in more than $50,000.

Among the first 17 gloves added to CS:GO with the Glove Case upgrade were Sport Gloves. The most expensive gloves are the vibrant Sport Gloves. The Factory new Pandora’s Box gloves will now set you back about $50,000, while the least expensive FN Vice gloves will set you back about $20,000.

These gloves are less expensive in bad condition because factory new ones are so uncommon. For instance, Field-Tested Vice Gloves cost about $2,000.

There are just 29 FN Pandora’s Box Gloves and 113 FN Vice Gloves in the world.

3. AK-47 Case Hardened (661): $40,000-$200,000

This AK is the priciest because of its nearly all-blue Case Hardened design.

Like case-hardened blades, case-hardened AK skins can fetch astronomical sums, contingent upon the design. The value of AK-47 Case Hardened skins ranges from a few hundred dollars in most cases, although pattern 661 can fetch up to $60,000, depending on its condition.

Because of this specific design, the weapon appears like a “blue gem” over a large portion of its exposed surface, making it extremely desirable. This page is a useful resource that lists all of the blue gems in Adobe Photoshop CS2.

It can increase the price to more than $100,000 if Titan stickers are also added on this AK. Selling for $400,000. An AK-47 661 in StatTrak Minimal Wear with four Titan Holos. As a result, it is currently the most costly single skin in CS:GO that has been sold. But more than the 661 AK alone, the stickers that were put were primarily to blame for this cost.

Though it has never been opened, a StatTrak 661 Case Hardened in Factory New is thought to be worth about $1 million.

2. Souvenir AWP Dragon Lore: $50,000 – $200,000+

The priciest AWP skins are the souvenir editions of Dragon Lore.

The Dragon Lore is usually the most expensive AWP skin, even though there are several expensive ones.

The most costly is the Souvenir version, which, in the event that it is Factory New, can sell for over $150,000. Even worse circumstances will probably cost at least $50,000. These souvenir editions, which come with gold stickers featuring the teams and event, are meant to honor a specific esports match. There are just 114 Dragon Lores from the Souvenir AWP available.

What is the most expensive CS2 skin?

1. Karambit Case Hardened (Blue Gem): $1.5 million+

An offer of €1.2 million was rejected by the owner of this Karambit.

This particular factory-new, blue gem design 387 Case Hardened Karambit skin is practically legendary. Although it cost slightly more than $100,000 when it was purchased in 2016, its current value is far higher.

The owner rejected an offer of €1.2m (about $1.5 million USD at the time), indicating that someone would need to pay more than $1.5 million USD to purchase it even if it hasn’t been sold yet. The price will have only gone up by 2023, and it might even be worth more than $2 million at this point.

This is partially due to the fact that there is only about a 1 in 371 million probability of opening the same knife from a case. Only one Blue Gem Karambit remains in Factory New condition, making it the best pattern available.

A well-worn 387 Karambit that wasn’t brand-new sold for more over $100,000 in June 2023.

Why are CS2 skins so expensive?

Skin rarity

It is first skin rarity that determines whether or not something qualifies as a “collector’s item.” Eight levels make up the tiers that are used to categorize this. One skin has been given the exclusive “Contraband” grading, making it the rarest skin grade. “Consumer” is the most frequent.

• Consumer (White)
• Indsutrial (Light blue)
• Mil-Spec (Blue)
• Restricted (Purple)
• Classified (Pink)
• Covert (Red)
• Contraband (Orange)
• Extraordinary (Gold)

The M4A4 Howl skin is the sole one with illicit status. It was once a Covert skin, but Valve unintentionally produced one of the rarest cosmetics in CS:GO history due to controversy surrounding the skin’s artwork—more precisely, the theft of someone else’s artwork.

What was uploaded was a copy of the original design. Upon apprehending the poacher in the act, Valve revised the design and elevated the rarity to a whole new category, which they dubbed Contraband.

However, the fact that Valve ceased producing more skins than what was currently in players’ inventories makes this one even more uncommon. In other words, the weapon’s finish became more valuable than it had ever been.

The entire supply of a skin will have a significant impact on its cost. For instance, the price has increased dramatically because there are only 114 Souvenir AWP Dragon Lores in the globe.

Value of skin float (wear)

The wear of a weapon skin is another factor to take into account; this is determined by the weapon skin’s “float value.” A skin’s flotation value can vary from 0.00 to 1.00, where 0.00 represents its finest and most immaculate version and 1.00 represents its most worn version. This is basically how the “condition” of cosmetics is determined.

A skin that has the “number 1” lowest or highest float will also sell for more money. Thus, you will be able to demand “overpay” from collectors if you have the best-looking skin in the game.

They are separated into five different categories, each of which denotes a different level of wear, to aid in this process. Below is a summary of them.

Float value in CS:GO.

The best way to visualize float value is as a continuum, where factory new is frequently the most appealing shape a cosmetic may take.

Better (lower) floats tend to be more costly skins because they are not only rarer but also appear better in-game with less fading, scratching, and color loss.

Pattern

The precise pattern of a skin is the next thing to think about. The mere fact that two weapons in CS2 have the same skin doesn’t guarantee that the skins will be applied precisely alike. For different skins, there are up to 999 patterns available, and the kind can affect the value.

For instance, different patterns on Fade skins will have a higher proportion of Fade, which basically means that more of the knife or pistol is coated in the Fade coloring.

Pattern is especially significant for Case Hardened skins since some Case Hardened patterns will have more blue than others; a Case Hardened skin with a lot of blue is referred to as a “blue gem” because it is highly rare and costly.

Other distinct skin variances change the worth. For instance, the price of knives is determined by the variety of patterns found on the Doppler skin. 

Since 100% of the marbling in any genuine sapphire, ruby, or emerald variety is marbleized, these variations are all regarded as “Legendary.” With a pattern phase that is entirely black with specks of purple and blue, the Black Pearl is the sole “Ancient” knife in CS2 and is possibly the rarest knife pattern in the entire game. Getting your hands on one will be very impossible.

Doppler skins in CS:GO.

Doppler (chroma and gamma) skin variations that are mythical, legendary, and ancient.

The last factor that typically drives up costs is a StatTrakTM version of a certain knife or weapon skin. A StatTrakTM knife or weapon tracks the number of kills its owner has accrued, as one might expect. In certain cases, this can even cost twice as much as the version without StatTrak.

That includes the priciest skins available for CS2. However, the market is constantly shifting and prices are frequently rising, so it’s hard to predict how these figures will appear in a few years.