Kurt Cobain’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ guitar bids already hit $1 million at auction

June 19, 2020

Back in May, it was announced that Kurt Cobain‘s MTV Unplugged acoustic guitar is going up for auction. Well today, June 19, the auction for the Nirvana frontman’s iconic guitar has started.

Bidding is currently taking place at the time of this article being published. The guitar is expected to break records during Friday’s auction.

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The guitar’s starting bid was $250,000 and the auction began at noon EST on Julien’s Auctions. As of now, the bidding is already up to $1 million and is expected to sell for even more. Four bids have been made on the guitar so far.

Cobain used the guitar during Nirvana’s legendary 1994 MTV Unplugged In New York performance. The 1959 Martin D-18E guitar comes with the original hard-shell case that Cobain decorated with a flyer for Poison Idea‘s 1990 album Feel The Darkness, two Alaska Airlines fragile stickers and three baggage claim ticket stubs. The case compartment also includes three Dunlop guitar picks, a partial set of Martin & Co. guitar strings and a black velvet pouch containing knife, fork and spoon lapel pins.

As well, the silver lamé shirt he wore in the “Heart-Shaped Box” video and the typed setlists from the MTV Unplugged concert are also up for auction. The MTV Unplugged lyric sheets Cobain used for “Plateau,” “The Man Who Stole the World” and “Lake Of Fire” are also for sale.

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The guitar was recently at the center of a legal battle against Cobain’s daughter Frances and her ex-husband Isaiah Silva. Silva sued several people who he believed broke into his home to both steal the guitar and attempt to kill him. Courtney Love, Love’s manager Sam Lutfi and actor Ross Butler (Riverdale, 13 Reasons Why) were just a few of the many individuals accused of conspiring against Silva. Court documents revealed that after a long battle, Silva won the settlement along with the historic guitar. Now, the guitar Love has called a “treasured heirloom of the family” is up for auction.

All of the Nirvana memorabilia and other items from Julien’s Auctions’ “Music Icons” collection that are up for auction are available to view here.

Last year, the cardigan Cobain wore during the MTV Unplugged performance also went to auction at Julien’s Auctions. It made history as one of the most expensive sweaters ever sold at a record-breaking $334,000.

You can watch one of the performances from MTV Unplugged In New York featuring the guitar up for auction below.