The Guitar Kurt Cobain Smashed On The First Nirvana Tour Has Sold For Nearly Half A Million Dollars

The-Pit-Filler-Image
Unsplash/Yvette de Wit
Published on:

A guitar belonging to the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has sold for nearly half a million dollars! Holy shit! This guitar is a 1973 Fender Mustang. The guitar was auctioned off via Julien’s Auctions.

For that kind of money, you might assume that the instrument is in pristine condition, but it is quite the opposite in fact! Per the Julien’s Auctions website, this Fender Mustang has actually been smashed (all thanks to that of the late Kurt Cobain). Along with the guitar belonging to Cobain, what also makes it special is that it is the Fender Mustang he used while on the first-ever Nirvana tour. Talk about an iconic piece from music history! That tour took place in 1989.

The guitar was estimated to be sold off for around $200,000 to $400,000, but actually sold for a total of $486,400! The following details regarding this instrument have been provided via the Julien’s Auctions website:

“A circa 1973 Fender Mustang electric guitar with tobacco sunburst finish that was owned, stage-played, smashed, and signed by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Following the release of Nirvana’s debut album Bleach (Sub Pop, 1989) the band embarked on their first U.S. tour where they played hole-in-the-wall venues across the south and mid-west.

“This Fender Mustang was stage-played by Kurt Cobain during two U.S. performances in 1989, the first was at Club Dreamerz in Chicago, Illinois on July 8th, and the second was at the Sonic Temple in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on July 9th – where Cobain smashed the guitar to pieces across the stage during the finale performance of ‘Blew.'”

Again, this is truly an iconic piece of music history, and we are sort of jealous that we do not own it ourselves! If you had half a million dollars, would you have put in a bid for this guitar? Or, if you had that much money, what is an iconic instrument from music history you would like to bid on?

Billy Corgan Calls Out Nirvana For Stealing His Guitar Sound