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The 16 most expensive guitars ever sold at auction.
Memorabilia collectors are always on the hunt for a signature item to headline their personal trophy case. For music lovers, nothing tops an easily recognized guitar used by one of rock and roll’s most legendary figures.
That was on full display during a March 2026 auction that included the Jim Irsay collection. Irsay, the former owner of the Indianapolis Colts, passed away in 2025. He’s accumulated a wide array of various collectors’ items prior to his death.
Memorabilia ranged from sports, to music, to film and entertainment. The three most expensive guitars ever auctioned were a part of the haul.
After his passing, the collection was sold in an auction by Christie’s Auction house in New York. It set a new bar in a variety of different areas, musical instruments included.
Included were guitars played by David Gilmour, Kurt Cobain, and Jerry Garcia. The list of most expensive guitars ever sold auction needed an immediate reboot.
What are the most expensive guitars ever sold at auction?
To put the sales prices in perspective, I’ll make a comparison.
Garcia played with the Grateful Dead at Woodstock in 1969, undoubtedly the greatest event in music history. His band was paid $2,500 for that appearance. The entire Woodstock lineup, which also featured Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, and Santana, was paid a combined $150,000, give or take.
These 16 guitars outvalue that total 10 times over!
This list will include only guitars auctioned. Private sales are not included as information isn’t always made public. Without ado, here are the 16 most expensive guitars ever sold at auction.
16. Kurt Cobain’s 1993 Fender Mustang “Sky Stang I”
This was the last guitar Kurt Cobain played live during his final show in March of 1994. It became his go-to guitar for the majority of the band’s In Utero tour.
Following the singer’s death, the Sky Stang I passed to his brother Chad Cobain and eventually went to auction in 2023. It sold for $1,587,500 in Nashville.
15. David Gilmour’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster
This guitar was used to record the rhythm parts on Pink Floyd’s single Another Brick in the Wall. It was also mistakenly believed to be the first Strat ever made, with a serial number of #0001 (the first is actually #0100).
It was sold in 2019 when the performer unloaded a great deal of gear in a charity auction. There, it went for a final sales price of $1,815,000.
14. Jerry Garcia’s “Wolf”
Unlike most guitars on this list, “Wolf” was not made by a mainstream manufacturer. Instead, it was the creation of Doug Irwin, from whom Garcia had already purchased a previous guitar, “Eagle.”
It’s believed that he paid $1,500 for the axe in the 1970s. It sold for $1,900,000 at a New York auction in 2017.
13. George Harrison’s Gibson SG Standard
This guitar was used by George Harrison often between the years 1966 and 1968, both on stage and in the studio. It was featured in the Beatles’ White Album and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Part of the Jim Irsay collection, it sold for $2,271,000 in March of 2026, making it the third-most expensive guitar in the band’s set.
12. David Gilmour’s Martin D-35
You’ll see Gilmour featured as much as any artist on this list, and for good reason. This Martin D-35 was used to record the Wish You Were Here album released in 1975 and was also featured on Dark Side of the Moon.
It sold for a little over $1 million in 2019, a total that was more than doubled in 2026. In March, it was auctioned off as part of the Irsay collection for $2,393,000.
11. John Lennon’s Gibson J160E
John Lennon used this guitar to write I Wanna Hold Your Hand, as well as a few of the band’s other popular acoustic tunes in the early 1960s.
It was actually stolen after a concert in 1963 but reappeared in 2015 where it was auctioned off for $2,410,000 in Los Angeles.
10. Reach Out to Asia Fender Stratocaster
This guitar was never actually owned by one singular rock star. It was, however, signed by many to include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davies, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi, Angus and Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams.
A stock made-in-Mexico Strat is only valued at $350. This signed version sold for $2,700,000 at a benefit to support victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
9. Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Kramer Ad’ guitar
The Kramer Ad guitar was one of the first Kramers Eddie Van Halen built and played. “It’s very simply the best guitar you can buy today,” he said of the axe in the 1980s.
He used it occasionally on tour in 1982 and 1983 in South America. Van Halen’s marketing ploy helped Kramer briefly become America’s biggest guitar brand. This guitar sold for $2,734,000 in 2025.
8. John Lennon’s Help! 12-string Framus Hootenanny
This guitar was used to record the Help! album in the 1960s and was featured in the movie of the same name. Lennon is seen playing the Framus Hootenanny in the “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” scene of the film.
It sold for $2,857,500 in 2024, making it the most expensive guitar in the Beatles collection.
7. Eric Clapton’s 1964 ‘The Fool’ Gibson SG
This axe became the face of a psychedelic movement in the late 1960s having been used by Clapton on Cream’s Disraeli Gears album released in 1967. That had to do as much with the guitar’s look as it did the sound.
Artwork depicted spiritual scene with an image of a red sun and an angel flying over hellfire. The guitar sold for $3,003,000 in 2026 as part of the Irsay collection. It is the most expensive Gibson guitar of all time.
6. Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Hot for Teacher’ Kramer
This Kramer was one of Van Halen’s primary guitars in the early 1980s. It most notably starred in the band’s Hot for Teacher music video in 1984.
It is the most expensive Kramer and the most expensive Van Halen guitar ever sold, going for $3,932,000 at auction in 2023.
5. Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Martin 000-42
Clapton played an Unplugged show on MTV in 1992. He used this guitar throughout that iconic show, playing it for eight of his 17 songs, including “Layla.”
It is the second-most expensive acoustic guitar to ever sell at auction. In 2026 as part of the Jim Irsay collection, it went for a price tag of $4,101,000.
4. Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E
Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E is the most expensive acoustic guitar on the list. It sold for $6,010,000 in Los Angeles in 2020.
This guitar, too, was used in an iconic Unplugged concert on MTV. The guitar was left to Kurt’s daughter Francis Bean and ended up with her ex-husband as part of their divorce settlement before its auction.
3. Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang
This is Cobain’s most expensive guitar, going for $6,907,000 in March 2026 as part of the Jim Irsay collection. That shattered a previous auction price in which the axe sold for $4,550,000 (2022).
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is Nirvana’s most popular song, and arguably the greatest song of its decade. Released on the 1991 album Nevermind, it made the band a household name out of the grunge scene.
2. Jerry Garcia Tiger
Tiger was built for Jerry Garcia by Doug Irwin (who also built Wolf) and played from 1979 until his death in the mid-1990s. The Grateful Dead leadman used the guitar in his final public gig.
It reportedly took six years to build. It sold for $11,560,000 as part of the Irsay collection in 2026.
1. David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster
This is Gilmour’s most iconic guitar. He says it’s been used on more Pink Floyd tracks than any of his others, and it was most notably featured in the Comfortably Numb solo. It was also heard on tracks like Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Money.
The axe was purchased by Gilmour in 1970. A quarter-century later, it went for $14,550,000 to set a record as the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. It, too, was a Jim Irsay collection piece.