Scratched by Kurt Cobain, David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen… Here are the four most expensive guitars in auction history, as Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler sold 120 guitars and amplifiers at Christie's in London on Wednesday.
Mark Knopfler's instruments are not to be expected at these heights; the most sought-after, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, is estimated at £300,000 to £500,000 (between $380,000 and $635,000).
A Kurt Cobain Martin, $6 million
AFP
As of June 2020, the record for the most expensive guitar has been held by the Martin D-18E, which Kurt Cobain used when recording Nirvana's famous “Unplugged” concert on November 18, 1993 in New York.
His price: 6 million dollars, under the hammer of the House of Julien.
The semi-acoustic guitar from 1959 complied with the rules of the American broadcaster MTV's “Unplugged” program, which stipulated that guest artists could only use acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments.
A Kurt Cobain Fender, 4.7 million
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The second guitar on the list also belonged to the Nirvana star. This is the Fender Mustang used in the 1991 music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
It was purchased in May 2022, while still at Julien's, for $4.7 million by Jim Irsay, owner of the American football franchise Indianapolis Colts and a major guitar collector.
According to the billionaire, the Cobain family donated a portion of the sales proceeds to Kicking the Stigma, an initiative by Jim Irsay that raises awareness of mental illness. A donation commemorating the suicide of the depressed and heroin addict Kurt Cobain on April 5, 1994.
David Gilmour's Black Strat, 4 million
AFP
David Gilmour's (Pink Floyd) Fender Stratocaster, dubbed the “Black Strat”, sold for $3.975 million in June 2019, holding the record for the most expensive guitar at the time. Billionaire Jim Irsay was already the lucky buyer.
The guitar was sold at an auction organized by Christie's, which raised $21.5 million to benefit the environmental NGO ClientEarth.
On the same day, two more guitars from David Gilmour exceeded the million mark.
A Kramer by Eddie Van Halen, 3.9 million
AFP
The Kramer, which Eddie Van Halen, founder of the group of the same name, used in the music video for “Hot For Teacher” (1984), was auctioned in April 2023 for $ 3.932 million, narrowly missing the podium.
According to Sotheby's auction house, which organized the sale, luthier Paul Unkert equipped the guitar with important innovations adapted to the development of Eddie Van Halen's technique.