Pink Floyd guitar sold for record-breaking $14.6m

BBC News - World Human InterestNews ReportEN 2 min read 100% complete March 13, 2026 at 10:50 PM

AI Summary

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David Gilmour's 1969 Fender Stratocaster, known as the "Black Strat," sold for a record-breaking $14.6 million at a Christie's auction in New York on Thursday. The guitar, used on six Pink Floyd albums between 1970 and 1983, became the most expensive guitar ever sold. The auction featured rock memorabilia from the collection of the late Jim Irsay and included a John Lennon piano which sold for $3.2 million. Other notable items included Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" guitar, Jerry Garcia's "Tiger" guitar, handwritten lyrics by Bob Dylan, and items from Ringo Starr, Miles Davis, Sylvester Stallone, and Muhammad Ali. The 44 items in the collection totaled $84 million.

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Key Claims (5)

AI-Extracted

Lot after lot, we felt like we were making history.

quote — Julien Pradels, president of Christie's Americas100% confidence

Christie's had estimated the guitar would fetch between $2m and $4m.

factual — Christie's website100% confidence

A piano owned by John Lennon sold for $3.2m.

factual100% confidence

Gilmour played the 1969 Fender Stratocaster on all of Pink Floyd's albums between 1970 and 1983.

factual100% confidence

A guitar used by David Gilmour sold for $14.6m, making it the most expensive guitar ever sold.

factual — Christie's100% confidence

Claims are automatically extracted and should be independently verified. Attribution indicates the stated source of the claim.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Jerry Garcia 30% Bob Dylan 30% Grateful Dead 30% Nirvana 40% Jim Irsay ×240% The Beatles ×250% New York 50% Kurt Cobain ×260% John Lennon 60% Christie's ×470% Pink Floyd ×280% David Gilmour ×290%

Keywords

guitar 100% auction 90% rock memorabilia 80% pink floyd 80% record-breaking sale 70% david gilmour 70% christie's 60% fender stratocaster 60% kurt cobain 50% musical instruments 50%