Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Julien’s Auctions, the industry’s leading rock music auction house, held its historic three-day auction “Played, Worn, & Torn Rock ‘ N’ Roll Iconic Guitars and Memorabilia”, with more than 1,000 important items in the history of rock music, a strong lineup, including a variety of goods owned and used by Kurt Cobain, which even broke the auction world record! The auction site was crowded with bidders, plus thousands of bidders online and by phone, setting a record for the number of registered bidders in twenty years!
Julien’s Auctions is headquartered in Los Angeles and has operations around the world. It combines technology to present live auctions to customers around the world in real time through live broadcasts. They can bid online and purchase their favorite items at any time and place. Julien’s Auctions has collaborated with countless well-known entertainers to produce film, music, sports and art auctions and has gained international recognition for its unique and innovative auction events, attracting collectors, investors, fans and enthusiasts from around the world. By. Julien’s Auctions specializes in selling iconic celebrity collectibles including Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Bank The collections of Banksy, Elvis Presley and others have all been acquired by Julien’s Auctions, which is very spectacular!
In 2020, Julien’s Auctions won the Guinness World Record for the third time by auctioning Kurt Cobain’s “MTV Unplugged 1” 959 Martin D-18E Acoustic Electric Guitar. The guitar was eventually sold for $6 million, becoming The most expensive guitar in the world’s auction history; in 2022, Julien’s Auctions sold Kurt Cobain’s 1969 “Fender Mustang Electric Guitar” for $4.5 million, setting a new record for the world’s second most expensive guitar at auction.
This time it was not a guitar that broke the record, but the iconic clothing “patch Levi’s jeans” often worn by Kurt Cobain. He wore them in the Heart-Shaped Box video and the MTV Awards. The jeans finally sold for $412,750. Sold (approximately NT$13 million), 40 times more than the pre-auction estimate of US$10,000, setting a world record for the most expensive Levi’s jeans ever sold at auction. Other Kurt Cobain items in this auction include the yellow plaid cardigan he wore, which sold for US$13,000 (pre-auction estimate: US$6,000-8,000), and an unopened “American Spirit” cigarette box which sold for US$5,200. A hand-drawn sketch and handwritten lyric notes for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sold for $91,000.
In addition to the clothing this time, the “Skystang I” Fender Mustang electric guitar that Kurt Cobain played at the last public performance of Nirvana’s 1993-1994 In Utero tour was sold to Japanese businessman Mitsuru Sato for 1,587,500 The auction proceeds were donated to the Indianapolis Colts and Irsay Family’s mental health promotion project “Kicking he Stigma”.
It’s no surprise that Kurt Cobain’s items have such great collectible value. In addition to his achievements in music, his uninhibited image and unique dressing style are also a generational fashion indicator! It’s just that many years after his death, he auctioned off his original tattered jeans and obtained an unimaginable amount of money. Compared with Nirvana’s rebellion and authenticity, it is really amazing.
