Stage-Used Instruments
Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E (MTV Unplugged)
Set a record at the time for any guitar sold at auction. The MTV Unplugged provenance — one of the most-watched music broadcasts of the 1990s — drives the premium.
- Sale price
- $6.01M
- USD · hammer + buyer's premium
- Sale date
- June 20, 2020
- Venue
- Julien's Auctions
- Authentication
- Cobain-played, documented MTV Unplugged use, included with original case and cardigan worn the same evening.
Provenance
Used by Cobain at the 1993 MTV Unplugged taping in New York; held by an estate-routed private collector until 2020.
Condition
Original finish, expected stage wear, all-original electronics.
Editorial note
Set a record at the time for any guitar sold at auction. The MTV Unplugged provenance — one of the most-watched music broadcasts of the 1990s — drives the premium.
Sources cited
Julien's Auctions Music Icons June 2020
auction house
Rolling Stone: 'Cobain Unplugged guitar sells for $6M'
trade press
Reported figures reflect publicly-cited hammer + buyer's premium as of source date. May differ slightly from auction-house internal records. Educational reference, not appraisal.
Comparable comps
Similar items in the Field Index.
Curated by the editors as relevant comparable sales — same category, same era, or same authentication tier. Useful for triangulating value when no single comp answers the question.
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