Kurt Cobain’s 1989 stage-smashed fender mustang guitar auctioned for nearly $500,000

A superfan of legendary musician Kurt Cobain recently bought an electric guitar played, smashed and then signed by the Nirvana frontman for nearly half a million dollars at an auction over the weekend.Played only twice, the circa 1973 Fender Mustang with tobacco sunburst finish was smashed onstage in 1989 by Cobain.

According to the auction house, the musician used the instrument first at Club Dreamerz in Chicago on July 8, 1989, and then at the Sonic Temple in Wilkinsburg on July 9, 1989. The guitar was destroyed beyond repair at the second event.

"Following that performance, the band stayed at Sluggo Cawley of the band Hullabaloo's apartment, where Cobain noticed a smashed Gibson SG hanging on Cawley's wall," Julien's auction house shared. "Cobain offered to trade it for the Fender Mustang he had smashed on July 9th because he thought he could repair the Gibson SG well enough to smash it again later on."

The auction house continued, "Sluggo agreed to the trade and had Cobain inscribe the Mustang, signing as Nirvana and additionally drawing two flowers along the upper right portion of the pickguard before the band moved on to their next show. Along the lower portion of the body, the inscription reads, 'Yo Sluggo / Thank for the trade / If it's illegal to Rock and Roll, then throw my ass in jail / Nirvana.'"

Otheritems that fetched top dollarat Julien's Auction's annual 'Icons & Idols: Rock 'N' Roll auction in New York include Elvis Presley's 1972 18K gold diamond Ebel wristwatch, which sold for $256,000,Bob Dylan's Wm. Knabe & Co. Brand Louis XV grand piano, which sold for $217,600,Prince's 1992 Kurt Nelson Cloud model electric guitar with NFT, which sold for $192,000 andJohn Lennon photo-matched 'Granny' glasses, which sold for $162,500.