One of the biggest pieces of Kurt Cobain memorabilia is headed to auction, and it’s not going to go for cheap.
As part of its June 19 and 20 “Music Icons” auction in Beverly Hills, Julien’s Auctions will be auctioning of Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E Acoustic-Electric guitar which he famously played on Nirvana’s episode of MTV Unplugged. Julien’s Auctions is estimating the guitar to sell for $1 million.
Per Julien’s, “In addition, the sale of the guitar comes with its original hard-shell case decorated by Cobain with a flyer from the punk rock band Poison Idea’s 1990 album Feel the Darkness. Three baggage claim ticket stubs are attached to the handle, along with an Alaska Airlines sticker affixed to the case. The storage compartment of the case also contains Cobain’s half-used pack of Martin guitar strings, three guitar picks, and his suede “stash” bag decorated with a miniature silver spoon, fork, and knife.” Photos of the guitar can be viewed below.
This guitar was infamously part of a divorce dispute between Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, and her ex-husband, Isaiah Silva. The divorce was settled in May 2018 after months of battling out in court. Silva contended that Frances gave the guitar to him as a gift, while Frances said she would never have given away the guitar because of its significance. Per TMZ, Silva was awarded the guitar as part of the divorce settlement in lieu of Frances Bean not having to owe him any spousal support, of which he requested a whopping $25,000 per month.
