Community price on backpack.tf: 41.0 keys, last changed 2025-09-25 (11mo ago). The live quote above, 38.1 keys, is 7% lower and last moved 21d 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: $249.98 — the lowest of one listing for the Piercing Headache effect when we looked on 2026-09-02 01:26 UTC (4d 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 38 keys, 8.22 ref 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 Mean Captain”, with no effect in the name — the effect comes from the individual listing.
Price history
7 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 Mean Captain sell price, 2025-09-30 to 2026-08-15: 7 observations, from 40.7 keys to 38.1 keys.
Observed (UTC)
Sell
Buy
30 SEP 2025 · 22:58 UTC
40.7 keys
33.3 keys
9 OCT 2025 · 10:29 UTC
38.9 keys
35.0 keys
19 OCT 2025 · 22:27 UTC
37.0 keys
33.3 keys
25 OCT 2025 · 18:39 UTC
35.3 keys
31.8 keys
10 NOV 2025 · 02:33 UTC
36.8 keys
33.0 keys
18 JUL 2026 · 22:43 UTC
37.1 keys
32.3 keys
15 AUG 2026 · 11:12 UTC
38.1 keys
33.2 keys
Price history in numbers
7 readings since 30 Sep 2025
The price has not been re-read inside the last 30 days. Over a year it ranged from 35.3 keys to 40.7 keys (down 6.4%). Today's 38.1 keys sits in the middle of its range: the lowest we have recorded is 35.3 keys (25 Oct 2025) and the highest 40.7 keys (30 Sep 2025). The price has moved 6 times since we began recording it — about once every 53 days.