AK-47 | The Empress (Factory New)

Take the AK-47 | The Empress in Factory New (FN): the grade where the gold still behaves like metal and the panels keep their depth. The AK-47 | The Empress occupies 0.00–0.07 on the float scale here. Covert rank, The Spectrum 2 Collection, and the Spectrum 2 Case is the drop source.

What the AK-47 | The Empress looks like in Factory New

The rifle is a collage of tarot panels. The upper handguard plate is dark blue under a gold check, the lower half red with fine gold filigree. The receiver is dark blue with a gold figure of a woman; the stock is dark blue flecked with gold. The magazine is red, with cream stars over a band of dark diamonds.

Four shields sit along the lower edge of the handguard plate, marked with a crown, a cross, a spade and a circle. They lie on their own cream and gold field, not on the uneven check above. Gold goes matte on the raised edges first and the colors lighten at the stock corners. Factory New shows none of it.

Where the AK-47 | The Empress came from

The finish is Workshop work credited to the artist Zaphk, submitted on April 25, 2017 under the Oni account. Its authors describe Tarot Collection Series 1 as a hand of cards turned into weapons: the Fool on the P90, the Empress on the AK-47. The Spectrum 2 collection went live on September 14, 2017; the AK-47 | The Empress has been in it since day one. Valve's text names the Empress tarot card as the inspiration; the catalog number is 675.

What to check before buying

Three things decide which AK-47 | The Empress copy to take:

• the float number, lowest at the clean end of the band;


• the gold on the receiver lip and trigger guard, first to dull;


• any stickers riding on the AK-47 | The Empress, plus a name tag if one is set.

There is no pattern lottery on the AK-47 | The Empress; the artwork lands identically every time. The AK-47 | The Empress fits into 0.00–0.07 here, which leaves barely any visible spread.

What the AK-47 | The Empress costs in Factory New

Almost the whole premium sits in this grade. Minimal Wear and Field-Tested are level with each other, within a few cents, both a little over half of Factory New. Well-Worn is barely below them and Battle-Scarred under half. The spread from Minimal Wear down to Battle-Scarred is about a seventh.

Against the Covert AK-47 line this one sits in the lower third, seven finishes below it. Neon Revolution is level, The Oligarch above, Aquamarine Revenge below. Fire Serpent and Wild Lotus are multiples away.

Getting the AK-47 | The Empress

Opening the Spectrum 2 Case is the direct route. The AK-47 | The Empress is also a contract output — ten lower-tier skins of this collection.

StatTrak and Souvenir

A StatTrak version of the AK-47 | The Empress exists; a Souvenir one does not.

Stickers and craft on the AK-47 | The Empress

Free space is scarce: the receiver carries the figure, the handguard the check and the shields, the magazine its stars. Gold stickers vanish into the filigree, red ones into the panels beneath. White, silver and pale blue stay readable, and the magazine has the only room to spare.

Who this wear suits

The Factory New copy suits you if:

• the gold is the reason for the purchase, and matte gold defeats it;


• the rifle is headed for a showcase, not into rounds;


• the shields and the check reward a close look.

Played rather than displayed, the worn grades make the stronger case.