Kurt Cobain’s Smashed Guitar Sells at Auction for Unbelievable Sum

A piece of rock 'n' roll music history was officially sold! 

The black Fender Stratocaster that had been destroyed by Kurt Cobain when Nirvana was working on their breakout album, Nevermind, in the 1990s sold at an auction held at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City on Saturday, May 20.

According to Julien's Auctions, the reassembled electric guitar sold for $595,000– nearly 10 times its original estimate of $60,000. 

Aside from the guitar being played by the Nirvana frontman himself, the instrument was also signed by all three members of the band, including Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. The lead singer signed his name as "Kurdt Kobain."

Cobain also wrote a sweet message to his friend and musical collaborator Mark Lanegan–who passed last Feb–writing, "Hell-o Mark! Love, Your Pal, Kurdt Kobain / Washed up rockstar." The guitar also featured several other inscriptions, including "Nirvanaah" and "Love brother."

According to Julien's Auctions, the musician gave the guitar to Lanegan during the North American leg of Nirvana's Nevermind tour in 1992. The pair often worked together on each other's projects, including Cobain singing for "Down in the Dark" and playing guitar on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" off of Lanegan's solo album, The Winding Sheet. Lanegan also contributed lyrics for "Something in the Way" on Nirvana's album, Nevermind.

The buyer is currently unidentified. However, the auctioneers listed the previous owner as someone named Tony Palmer.

In addition to the guitar, the auction also sold another piece of Nirvana history, which included a setlist for Nirvana's April 17, 1991 performance at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington. The setlist went for 12 times its original estimate of $50,800

The setlist was special for many reasons as it's believed to be handwritten by Grohl himself and marked the debut performance of the band's legendary hit, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," before it was released in Nov. 1991.

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