David Gilmour, his is the most expensive guitar: $14.5 million

It is David Gilmour's most expensive guitar ever: $14.5 million at Christie's on the evening of 12 March 2026. A shower of records - 23 of them - descended on Rockefeller Center during the first of three live sales dedicated to the "world's largest guitar collection", the Jim Irsay Collection: all 44 lots were sold (white glove sale), with an average revaluation almost quadrupling (378%), for a total of over $84 million including commission ($84,091,350). The former Pink Floyd guitarist and composer thus ousted from the podium Kurt Cobain, until last night holder of the record for the most expensive non-classical musical instrument in history (Martin D 18-E, $6.01 million in 2020 at Julien's, currently in the personal collection of entrepreneur Peter Freedman).

A curiosity: the 'Black Strat' was already number one in 2019, when Irsay bought it from Christie's for $3.97 million. It is the same one played on 'The Dark Side of the Moon', 'Wish You Were Here', 'Animals' and 'The Wall'.

Immagine Gilmour Black Strat Christies Irsay 26 marzo

The leader of Nirvana beats himself, however, by taking a historic third place: his Fender Mustang used in the video for 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' grosses almost $7 million ($6,907,000), relegating Freedman's Martin D to fourth place.
And the second most expensive lot? It was the Doug Irwin 'Tiger' byJerry Garcia, which fetched to the tune of $11,560,000. "Lot after lot we felt we were making history," said Christie's Americas president Julien Pradels at the end of the session. "The Irsay sale did justice to the collector's acumen and the pieces of monumental scope he was able to put together, iconic objects that tell the story of our culture and our time."

Other auction highs included the "most expensive Beatles object ever", John Lennon's upright piano, $3,247,000; the Beatles also reached a new high for percussion instruments: Ringo Star's drum set, Ludwig, fetched $2,393,000. The 1939 Martin 000-42 by Eric Clapton fetched $4.1 million, and it was again the 'Layla' guitarist who earned a new record for a Gibson: $3 million for the Gibson SG 'The Fool'. In the Gibson sphere, a new high was achieved for 'a guitar owned by a woman', namely Janis Joplin's J-45, $381,000.

John Lennon Pianoforte Christies Irsay 26 marzo

Almost only guitars then in the glittering night of Rockefeller Center?
Not at all. There were new records for a saxophone (the prototype Yamaha Nippon Gakki Alto) byJohn Coltrane, $431,800); for a trumpet (the Martin Committee Trumpet by Miles Davis, $1.65 million).
And then, the scent of paper. The manuscripts of Bob Dylan ('The Times They Are a-Changin'', $2.5 million) and Jim Morrison (notebook, $120,650) achieved remarkable results. The latter also featured with the sale of one of his microphones from 1968, which flew away for the same price as the notebook. Finally, the original typescript of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac changed hands for $12.1 million.