All of Prince’s bespoke guitars were cool — weren’t they? — but they were not of equal value. At least to collectors.
Rare Prince guitar sells for $381,000 at auction
It was the big purchase at a sale that also featured an Eddie Van Halen guitar and a Michael Jackson fedora.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 22, 2024 at 2:30PM
Prince’s Sadowsky Telecaster guitar — used on his 1986 Parade Tour and in his music video for the hit “America” — sold for $381,000 at a Julien’s auction on Wednesday. It was reportedly only one of six guitars made in this style.
As apparently rare as it is, this guitar didn’t come close to the $910,000 paid in June for Prince’s Cloud 3 yellow guitar. That classic was built by Bloomington luthier Dave Rusan, completed in early 1985.
By comparison, in this week’s Julien’s auction, Eddie Van Halen’s 1993 Ernie Ball Music Man Signature “Canada Day” electric guitar sold for $104,000. Other items sold in this auction included Nirvana’s signed 1991 recording contract, for $22,750; Freddie Mercury’s 1981 stage-worn tank top, for $22,750, and a Michael Jackson fedora, for $5,850.
The record amount paid for a guitar at auction is $6,010,000 for Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E, according to guitar.com. The Fender Mustang guitar Cobain used on the Nirvana megahit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” went for $4,550,000.
When Bob Dylan famously went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he used a 1964 Stratocaster that sold at auction in 2013 for $965,000 to Indianapolis Colts owner and guitar collector Jim Irsay, who displays his collection in a traveling museum.
No word on the top bidder for the Prince guitar.
The British dance-pop star skipped Minnesota in 2024 but is coming back around to play Target Center on April 26.
