Kurt Cobain's smashed Fender guitar sells for almost $600,000

Kurt Cobain's smashed Fender Stratocaster guitar sold astatine auction for $595,900, much than 10 times its archetypal estimate.

The Nirvana frontman's iconic left-handed electrical guitar was smashed portion the grunge pioneers were making their seminal Nevermind medium successful the aboriginal 1990s. Reassembled but unplayable, it was expected to merchantability for betwixt $60,000 and $80,000 astatine the Julien's auction astatine the Hard Rock Cafe successful New York implicit the weekend.

It features the signatures of Nirvana's 3 members — Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl — on with an inscription by Cobain addressed to the precocious Screaming Trees pb vocalist Mark Lanegan. According to Julien's Auctions, Cobain gave the guitar to Lanegan during Nirvana's Nevermind circuit successful 1992.

Cobain, who took his ain beingness successful 1994 astatine the property of 27, was renowned for his frenetic performances and smashed a fig of Stratocasters during his hugely influential career.

Nirvana's handwritten acceptable database from the band's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" debut show successful 1991 besides sold astatine the aforesaid auction Saturday for $50,800, 12 times its archetypal estimate.

The guitar Cobain played during a legendary unrecorded acoustic performance connected MTV Unplugged successful 1993, conscionable 5 months earlier his death, was sold 2 years agone for $6 million.

A trove of philharmonic memorabilia sold implicit the people of the two-day Julien's auction, including guitars played by Bono and Eddie Van Halen, and Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" World Tour jacket.