Guitars owned by top guitarist like Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, or Jimi Hendrix would sell way above the book value.
You will not find these original guitars at a pawn store or anywhere not secure. They are very valuable guitars.
The most expensive guitar sold is a custom made Fender “Reach Out To Asia” Statocaster. A total of 19 top rock guitar players endorsed this guitar by signing on its body. The guitar was auctioned to raise funds for the victims of the 2004 Tsunami disaster. The guitar fetched a staggering amount of 2.7 Million Dollars!
Here are the other four guitars which were auctioned and yielded way above the book value:
Jimi Hendrix owned 1968 Fender Stratocaster. This is also one of the most expensive guitars sold. The world remembers Jimi Hendrix for playing The Star Spangled Banner on his Fender Strat at Wood Stock in 1969. In 1998, Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation bought the guitar for 2 Million Dollars!
The legendary Bob Marley rarely played his Washburn 22 Series Hawk guitar. For some reason, he gave it to his music tech, Gary Carlsen. Now the guitar is considered as national asset by the Jamaican Government. The guitar is estimated at a value around 1.7 million dollars!
In 2004, Eric Clapton auctioned his Fender “Blackie” Statocaster which he retired playing in 1985. He decided to auction the guitar to raise money for his non profitable organisation that helps people recover from drug addiction. He raise around $959,000.
Bob Dylan auctioned his 1964 Fender Statocaster. This is the first guitar he used when he decided to switch from an acoustic to electric guitar. Fans were disappointed and angry by this move of abandoning folk music but it is registered that Bob Dylan had definitely defined a new sound. In 2013 he auctioned the same guitar and donated the money to a charitable organization. The amount raised was $965,000.
One good thing is that these the guitars were sold to raise money for charity organizations or to keep the legacy. None of these guitars were auctioned to profit the musicians themselves but were auctioned for a cause.
If you have any additional comments, please feel free to leave it below. I will be glad to read them.
I didn’t know there was so many expensive stratocasters out there. It’s great to see the money being raised for such good causes with these guitars. The players of these guitars are some of my favorite. Eric Clapton being my favorite in the bunch. What a great use of his fame to bring awareness to drug addiction which he suffered from for many years.
I am very impressed by the guitar that sold for 2.7 million dollars and for a good cause too, that goes to show that there are still good and generous people out there.
I was also happy to learn about Bob Marley’s guitar, I am a fan of his music and that piece of information is good to have. myself I don’t play guitar but I love me a song that has good guitar sound. This is a very good post and i love the photos too and the way you get straight to the point, great job.
Hi Smart If I wanted to buy a Fender Stratocaster at the local music store how much would that cost me? Also I found it odd that one of the Beatles guitar did not make your list. So I did a little research and in 2015 John Lennon‘s long-lost acoustic Gibson J-160E was auctioned for $2.4 million to some one who wishes to remain anonymous. This guitar had been originally estimated to be worth $800,000 but sold for way more.
Hi! Maurine
Thanks for your comments. Well, a Stratocaster cost @ around $500 and way up! I Think I need to do a review on the cost of a standard guitar.
You are right. I should have included John Lennon Acoustic. Surely as years go by the value increases.
Thank you for researching more.
Rgds