by Fred Fuld III
Last week, a Cloud 2 Blue Angel guitar that was owned and played by Prince was sold at auction for $563,500 by Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California.
If you think that’s a lot of money, Kurt Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E guitar which he played on Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged” performance had an estimated value of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, but was hammered at an incredible $6,010,000.
Of course, there were a few lower priced items you could have purchased, such as the Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, which went for $15,625.
But you aren’t just limited to guitars. You could have bought a poster signed by Bob Dylan for $4,480. Or The Who album poster for just $192. Or a Jimi Hendrix Experience Band album signed by Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell which went for $7,680.
If you are an Elvis Presley fan, you could have bought his army patches or his deputy sheriff badge or his scarf, his tie, his hat, or his ring.
So if you are wondering, should you be putting some of your stock market profits into rock and roll collectibles, the answer is maybe.
Over time, entertainment collectibles can appreciate in value, but the decision on whether to purchase and what you purchase should not be based on resale value but on which entertainer or musician you are a fan of and what you really want to collect. The value you receive should be the knowledge that you own something that a famous person has played, or held, or wrote.
Happy collecting!!!
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above.
