The Top 8 Most Expensive Guitars Ever Sold

On March 12, 2026, an online buyer purchased David Gilmour’s black Fender Stratocaster guitar for $14.55 million, making it the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. The sale smashed the previous record for the world's most expensive guitar, which had until then been held by the guitar Kurt Cobain played in his MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. 

The sale took place at the Jim Irsay Collection auction at Christie’s in New York, an event that saw the sale of two more guitars that both obliterated the previous record for the world's most expensive six-string.

The majority of the world’s most expensive instruments are violins built by master craftsmen Antonio Stradivari in the late 17th and early 18th century. Some of these instruments have fetched up to $16 million at auction, and others are valued at up to $30 million.

But Gilmour’s guitar has made it the most expensive instrument made in the 20th century ever sold by far. Its sale, and the overall success of the Irsay auction, indicates that more modern instruments might soon rival iconic classical ones in terms of price. Ahead, learn about the most expensive guitars ever sold.

1. David Gilmour’s Fender Stratocaster
2. Jerry Garcia’s “The Tiger”
3. Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Fender Mustang
4. Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin
5. Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Martin
6. Eddie Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” Kramer
7. Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” 1964 Gibson SG Standard
8. John Lennon’s Framus Hootenanny 12-string

David Gilmour’s Fender Stratocaster

Value: $14.55 Million

David Gilmour purchased his guitar at Manny's Music in New York City in 1970, and used it for every Pink Floyd recording and performance between 1972 and 1983—including the recording of the band’s iconic albums Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and Animals.  The guitar was sold to an online buyer in a 21-minute auction on March 12, 2026.

Jerry Garcia’s “The Tiger”

Value: $11.56 Million

One of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia’s guitars also sold at the 2026 Irsay auction, and fetched a cool $11.56 million. Called “The Tiger,” the one-of-a-kind guitar was commissioned by Garcia in 1973.

Garcia reportedly asked master craftsman Doug Irwin to make him the most elaborate guitar possible, and the instrument took six years to make. Comprised of a number of exotic types of woods held together with elegant brass bindings, the extraordinary instrument was Garcia’s primary guitar between 1979 and 1989.

Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Fender Mustang

Value: $6.9 million

Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged guitar had previously been the most expensive guitar ever sold until the March 12, 2026 auction, but another one of his instruments broke his record at the event—the 1969 Fender Competition Mustang, which Cobain used in his “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video.

Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin

Value: $6 Million

Nirvana’s performance on MTV Unplugged is a cultural touchstone, and so is the guitar that Kurt Cobain played during it. The 1959 Martin D-18E electro-acoustic guitar he used in the performance sold for $6 million in 2020, and in 2025, it was put on display at London’s Royal College of Music Museum.

“It’s a very rare instrument and an unsuccessful model,” music journalist Alan Di Perna told The Guardian of the unique instrument. “The whole world was going crazy for electric guitars in 1959 and this was Martin’s attempt at making an acoustic guitar electric, and it didn’t really work.”

“It’s one of a kind: the guitar was modified for Cobain’s left-hand playing technique, an extra pickup was added by his guitar tech,” he added. “...In a way it’s kind of an outcast like Kurt himself. It’s a suitable guitar for him in a lot of ways.”

Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Martin

Value: $4.1 Million

One of Eric Clapton’s guitars also sold at the 2026 Irsay auction, and it became the most expensive acoustic guitar ever sold, fetching $4.1 million. The guitar was a Martin 000-42 acoustic that Clapton used for his 1992 MTV Unplugged performance.

Eddie Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” Kramer

Value: $3.9 Million

This guitar was featured in the music video for the Van Halen song “Hot For Teacher,” and it sold for $3.9 million at a 2023 auction. This custom-made guitar is known as the Kramer CO176 and was built by Paul Unkert, and features a Stratocaster-style body and a distinctive red-and-white striped pattern. It was one of the main instruments used by Van Halen in 1983 and 1984.

Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” 1964 Gibson SG Standard

Value: $3 Million

The guitar that Clapton used during much of his time in the band Cream also broke records at the 2026 Irsay auction, selling for just over $3 million. The 1964 SG Standard is called “The Fool,” after the Dutch design collective that painted it.

John Lennon’s Framus Hootenanny 12-string

Value: $2.85 Million

John Lennon reportedly purchased this guitar after meeting Bob Dylan in the United States and feeling inspired by the folk scene of the early 1960s, and he used it to write the Dylan-inspired ballad “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” Interestingly, the guitar’s creator, Fred Wilfer of the German guitar manufacturer Framus, was inspired to create the line of guitars that the Hootenanny belongs to after witnessing the simultaneous successes of Beatlemania and folk music.

This particular guitar was also featured in the movie Help! It was also used in the recordings of the songs  “Help,” “It's Only Love,” and “I've Just Seen a Face” on the album Help! and the songs “Girl” and “Norwegian Wood” on Rubber Soul. The guitar sold for approximately $2.85 million at a 2024 auction in California.

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