Community price on backpack.tf: 6.50–7.50 keys, last changed 2025-12-23 (8mo ago). The live quote above, 8.00 keys, is 23% higher and last moved 5d ago. They are different measures: the quote is what traders and bots are asking and bidding on the classifieds right now, and it moves for thousands of items every day; the community price is a suggestion accepted by vote, which changes only when someone argues it should. A quote well away from the vote is usually a price that is about to be re-argued. Community prices from backpack.tf, read under an hour ago.
Steam Market asking price: $23.99 — the lowest of one listing for the Piercing Headache effect when we looked on 2026-09-03 01:23 UTC (3d ago). This is what a seller is asking, not what anything sold for. Steam pays out in Steam wallet funds, not cash, and Valve takes roughly 15% at the till — so asking prices there run well above the 8 keys shown above, which comes from the keys-and-metal market on backpack.tf. The two are different markets and are never blended. Steam lists the item as “Unusual Elf Esteem”, with no effect in the name — the effect comes from the individual listing.
Price history
18 observations
Interactive chart. Press the left and right arrow keys to move along the series, Home or End to jump to either end, Escape to clear.
The key axis converts at today's rate. Prices are recorded in metal, so a line that is flat in keys followed the key rate rather than standing still.
Piercing Headache Elf Esteem sell price, 2025-12-31 to 2026-08-31: 18 observations, from 6.08 keys to 8.00 keys.
Observed (UTC)
Sell
Buy
31 DEC 2025 · 08:51 UTC
6.08 keys
5.09 keys
7 FEB 2026 · 22:23 UTC
5.99 keys
5.02 keys
5 MAR 2026 · 14:44 UTC
5.94 keys
4.99 keys
10 MAR 2026 · 22:10 UTC
6.39 keys
5.31 keys
5 APR 2026 · 12:29 UTC
7.23 keys
3.94 keys
14 APR 2026 · 02:30 UTC
7.26 keys
3.66 keys
29 APR 2026 · 00:31 UTC
6.93 keys
3.75 keys
3 MAY 2026 · 20:32 UTC
6.83 keys
4.94 keys
10 MAY 2026 · 22:33 UTC
7.21 keys
5.49 keys
16 MAY 2026 · 22:31 UTC
7.17 keys
4.02 keys
24 MAY 2026 · 16:30 UTC
7.15 keys
3.68 keys
3 JUN 2026 · 02:30 UTC
7.23 keys
5.53 keys
10 JUN 2026 · 22:31 UTC
7.15 keys
3.85 keys
15 JUN 2026 · 00:32 UTC
7.31 keys
3.76 keys
29 JUN 2026 · 19:12 UTC
4.09 keys
3.55 keys
10 JUL 2026 · 16:45 UTC
7.54 keys
3.85 keys
26 JUL 2026 · 18:44 UTC
5.55 keys
4.78 keys
31 AUG 2026 · 18:10 UTC
8.00 keys
4.74 keys
Price history in numbers
18 readings since 31 Dec 2025
The price has not been re-read inside the last 30 days. Over a year it ranged from 4.09 keys to 8.00 keys (up 31.5%). Today's 8.00 keys sits at the top of its range: the lowest we have recorded is 4.09 keys (29 Jun 2026) and the highest 8.00 keys (31 Aug 2026). The price has moved 17 times since we began recording it — about once every 14 days.