BANKSY
I Fought The Law, 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Sheet: 70×70 cm (27 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches)
Printer & Publisher: Pictures on Walls, London
Regular Editions (Orange):
500 unsigned, 150 signed
Colorways Editions:
Orange/Pink/Red/Yellow: Each 8 signed
Artist’s Proofs:
71 signed APs
Colors vary throughout the edition: orange, pink, red, yellow and silver
Including 26 uncut APs printed in various color combinations
Auction Market Overview
I Fought The Law (unsigned)
The auction history of I Fought The Law (unsigned) offers a particularly clear example of how the Banksy print market repriced politically charged secondary images during the pandemic-era boom, before gradually returning them to more disciplined collector-driven levels. Released in an unsigned edition of 500, the work occupies a distinctive place within Banksy’s print catalogue. The image draws on the language of power, punishment and rebellion, transforming the title’s famous phrase into a sharp visual commentary on authority and resistance.
Before the pandemic-era expansion, I Fought The Law traded within a relatively modest range. Between 2018 and 2019, results generally fell between approximately $5,000 and $14,000, with a pre-boom median around $8,636. At that stage, the work was already recognizable among Banksy collectors, but it remained one of the more accessible unsigned editions. Liquidity was healthy, with recurring sales at Forum Auctions, Phillips, Bonhams, Tate Ward and Sotheby’s, but pricing remained firmly in entry-level territory.
The market changed dramatically in 2020. As demand for Banksy prints accelerated, I Fought The Law was pulled into the same speculative expansion that affected much of the artist’s print market. Sotheby’s Online achieved approximately $45,865 in September 2020, SBI Art Auction reached approximately $75,010 in October, while Phillips Hong Kong and Bonhams London both achieved results above $60,000 in December. The annual median jumped to approximately $62,130, representing one of the most dramatic revaluations in the dataset.
The strongest individual result remains the October 2020 SBI Art Auction sale at approximately $75,010. This is important because the single-sale peak arrived in 2020 rather than 2021. The broader market remained very strong in 2021, but the annual median moderated to approximately $39,295. Numerous examples still sold between $30,000 and $62,000, confirming that the boom was not limited to one exceptional result. At its height, collectors were willing to pay five to seven times the pre-pandemic price for the same unsigned edition.
The correction began in 2022. Several examples still achieved results around $30,000, but the annual median fell to approximately $25,792. This was a clear move away from the peak conditions of 2020 and 2021, although prices remained well above the pre-boom range. By 2023, the market had softened further, with results generally between $18,000 and $28,000 and a median of approximately $21,742. The normalization continued in 2024 and 2025, when most sales settled between roughly $11,500 and $18,000.
In 2025, the median price stands at approximately $16,312. This is still above the 2018–2019 level, but far below the speculative peak. Current values represent approximately 26.3% of the peak median, confirming that most of the pandemic-era premium has disappeared. The work has not collapsed into irrelevance, but it has clearly returned to a more rational valuation range.
The key market lesson is familiar but important. I Fought The Law is a strong Banksy image, but it has not achieved the cultural status of Girl With Balloon, Love Is In The Air or Laugh Now. During speculative periods, that distinction becomes less visible because demand expands across the entire Banksy catalogue. During corrections, hierarchy returns. Collectors continue to buy the work, but they are no longer willing to pay peak-cycle prices for it.
Liquidity remains one of the work’s strongest features. I Fought The Law appears regularly across major and specialist auction houses, including Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, Bonhams, Forum Auctions, Tate Ward, SBI Art Auction, Heritage and others. This sustained turnover confirms that the image remains well established in the Banksy print market. The issue is not demand; the issue is price discipline. In market terms, I Fought The Law behaves much like other liquid unsigned Banksy editions such as HMV, Happy Chopper, Flying Copper, Barcode and Morons. It enjoyed a dramatic speculative expansion, corrected sharply, and now trades in a more sustainable range. The work remains important and collectible, but the data suggests that it belongs to the category of strong collector images rather than top-tier trophy images.
I Fought The Law (signed) (APs/Colorways)
The signed edition of I Fought The Law tells a more selective story than the unsigned edition. While the unsigned edition of 500 offers broad liquidity, the signed edition of 150 is materially scarcer and therefore commands a substantial premium. Before the pandemic-era expansion, signed examples traded around the $30,000 to $45,000 range, with a pre-boom median of approximately $36,000.
The market accelerated sharply in 2020 and 2021. The signed edition reached a median of approximately $79,370 in 2021, while several individual results approached or exceeded the $80,000 level. This confirmed that collectors were willing to pay a meaningful premium for the signed edition during the height of the Banksy print boom.
The correction has been significant, but the signed edition has retained value better than the unsigned edition. The 2024 median stands around $40,200, representing approximately 50.6% of the peak median. That places the signed edition in a more resilient position than the unsigned market, where most of the speculative premium has disappeared.
The APs and colorways form a separate, much rarer market. The strongest result in the dataset is the red colorway, which achieved approximately $172,500 at Christie’s Online in 2021. Yellow AP examples also performed strongly, including approximately $125,625 in 2020 and $100,580 in 2021. These results show that rarity and visual differentiation can command a dramatic premium over the regular signed edition, although the sample size remains too small to treat these prices as a fully liquid benchmark.
Overall, I Fought The Law signed behaves like a stronger and more selective version of the unsigned market. The regular signed edition remains a collector’s Banksy with meaningful scarcity, while the APs and colorways sit in a higher, more trophy-oriented category.
I Fought The Law (unsigned)
2025 Auction Results
Tate Ward: 10 December 2025
Estimated: GBP 7,000 – 9,000
GBP 8,750 / USD 11,700
BANKSY (British 1974-)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on paper
Numbered from an edition of 500 in pencil
Published by Pictures On Walls with their blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Bruun Rasmussen: 19 November 2025
Estimated: DKK 75,000 / USD 11,800
DKK 80,000 (Hammer)
DKK 104,000 / USD 15,655
BANKSY (b. 1975)
“I fought the law” (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint
Numbered in pencil 298/500
Printed Banksy tag in the print
Published by Pictures on Walls, London, with their blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Heritage Auctions: 30 October 2025
No Estimates Provided
USD 11,562
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Edition: 18/500
Stamped and numbered in pencil lower right
XXXXXXXXXX
Tate Ward: 13 August 2025
Estimated: GBP 7,000 – 9,000
GBP 12,500 / USD 16,970
BANKSY (British 1974-)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on paper
Numbered from an edition of 500 in pencil
XXXXXXXXXX
Christie’s online: 1 April 2025
Estimated: GBP 8,000 – 12,000
GBP 13,860 / USD 17,907
BANKSY
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Numbered 499/500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
LA Modern: 8 January 2025
Estimated: USD 15,000 – 25,000
USD 17,780 / GBP 14,390
BANKSY (b.1975)
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors
Numbered to lower right ‘83/500’
2024 Auction Results
Tate Ward Auctions: 11 December 2024
Estimated: GBP 8,000 – 12,000
GBP 10,750 / USD 13,975
BANKSY (British 1974-)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on paper
Numbered from an edition of 500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Forum Auctions: 4 December 2024
Estimated: GBP 8,000 – 12,000
Hammer: GBP 8,200
GBP 10,990 / USD 14,260
BANKSY (b.1974)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered from the edition of 500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Sotheby’s New-York: 22 October 2024
Estimated: USD 10,000 – 15,000
USD 15,600
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Numbered in pencil 214/500
XXXXXXXXXX
Christie’s online: 26 March 2024
Estimated: GBP 10,000 – 15,000
GBP 12,600 / USD 15,980
BANKSY
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Numbered 138/500 in pencil (there was also a signed edition of 150)
XXXXXXXXXX
Forum Auctions: 30 January 2024
Estimated: GBP 10,000 – 15,000
GBP 15,000 / USD 19,023 (HAMMER)
GBP 20,100 / USD 25,491
BANKSY (b.1974)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint in black and orange
Numbered from the edition of 500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp
2023 Auction Results
Artcurial Paris: 28 November 2023
Estimated: EUR 12,000 – 15,000
EUR 20,336 / USD 22,285 / GBP 17,695
Screenprint in colors on wove paper
Numbered 223/500 in pencil lower right with the publisher blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Arnet Auctions: 31 August 2023
Estimated: USD 18,000 – 25,000
USD 22,500 / GBP 17,685
BANKSY
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on buff wove paper
Numbered 383/500 in pencil
XXXXXXXXXX
Forum Auctions: 30 August 2023
Estimated: GBP 11,000 – 15,000
GBP 12,200 (Hammer)
GBP 16,348 / USD 20,800
BANKSY
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered in pencil from the edition of 500
XXXXXXXXXX
Sotheby’s online: 20 April 2023
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 22,860 / USD 28,455
BANKSY
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered 237/500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
XXXXXXXXXX
Roseberys London: 7 March 2023
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 15,600 / USD 18,495
BANKSY (British b.1974-)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove
Numbered 320/500 in pencil, with publisher’s blind stamp
Published by Pictures on Walls
XXXXXXXXXX
Forum Auctions: 22 February 2023
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 15,000
GBP 13,000 (Hammer)
GBP 17,576 / USD 21,200
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered from the edition of 500 in pencil
Printed and published by Pictures on Walls, London, with their blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
I Fought The Law (unsigned) (138/500), 2004
Christie’s online: 28 September 2023
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
PASSED
2022 Auction Results
SBI Art Auction: 28 October 2022
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 2,127,500 / USD 14,425 / GBP 12,445
BANKSY
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint
Printed signature, numbered and embossed on the lower part
From the edition of 500
XXXXXXXXXX
SBI Art Auction: 16 September 2022
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 2,415,000 / USD 16,890 / GBP 14,610
BANKSY
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint
Numbered on the lower left
From the edition of 500
XXXXXXXXXX
Forum Auctions: 15 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 12,500 (Hammer)
GBP 16,750 / USD 20,605
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2005
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered from the edition of 500 in pencil
XXXXXXXXXX
Estimated: GBP 18,000 – 25,000
GBP 19,000 (Hammer)
GBP 25,460 / USD 32,080
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered from the edition of 500, with the publisher’s blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
Sotheby’s online: 26 April 2022
Estimated: GBP 18,000 – 22,000
GBP 25,200 / USD 31,750
I Fought The Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered 134/500 in pencil with the publisher’s blindstamp, lower right
Forum Auctions: 3 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 18,000 – 25,000
GBP 17,000 (Hammer)
GBP 22,780 / USD 30,980
BANKSY (b. 1974)
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in black and orange on wove paper
Numbered from the edition of 500, with the publisher’s blindstamp
2021 Auction Results
Bonhams London: 9 December 2021
Estimated: GBP 12,000 – 18,000
GBP 22,750 / USD 30,715
BANKSY (British, born 1974)
I Fought the Law (unsigned), 2004
Screenprint in colors on wove
Numbered 218/500 in pencil
Published by Pictures on Walls, London, with their blindstamp
XXXXXXXXXX
HKD 226,800 / USD 29,080 / GBP 21,700