A legendary guitar played by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd has sold for $14.6 million (£10.9 million) at auction, becoming the most expensive guitar ever sold, according to Christie’s.
The instrument, a 1969 Fender Stratocaster known as the “Black Strat,” was used by Gilmour on multiple Pink Floyd albums between 1970 and 1983, including The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall.
The guitar sold to an unnamed buyer after 21 minutes of bidding during a live rock memorabilia auction held in New York on 12 March 2026.
Guitar used on some of Pink Floyd’s most famous albums
The Black Strat became one of the most recognisable instruments in rock history, appearing on several landmark Pink Floyd recordings during the band’s most commercially successful period.
Those albums include the classic releases The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall (1979), all of which feature Gilmour’s distinctive guitar work.
Christie’s had originally estimated the instrument would sell for between $2 million and $4 million, meaning the final price far exceeded expectations.
Auction featured collection of late billionaire Jim Irsay
The sale was part of a larger auction featuring items from the personal collection of American businessman and music memorabilia collector Jim Irsay, who died in 2025.
According to Christie’s, the 44 items in the collection generated a total of $84 million (£64 million) during the auction.
Previous guitar auction record broken
The sale easily surpassed the previous record for a guitar sold at auction.
That record had been held by a 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic-electric guitar played by Kurt Cobain during MTV Unplugged in 1993, which sold for $6 million (£4.5 million) in 2020.
Another Cobain instrument also attracted major interest during the same Christie’s auction. A blue Fender Mustang used in the music video for Smells Like Teen Spirit sold for $6.9 million (£5.3 million).
Other major items sold in the auction
The event included a range of historically significant music and entertainment memorabilia.
Highlights included:
- A custom built guitar called “Tiger” owned by Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead, which sold for $11.6 million (£8.8 million)
- Handwritten lyrics for The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Bob Dylan, which sold for $2.5 million (£1.9 million)
- A drum kit owned by Ringo Starr of The Beatles, which sold for $2.4 million (£1.8 million)
- A trumpet belonging to jazz legend Miles Davis, which sold for $1.6 million (£1.2 million)
- A piano previously owned by John Lennon, which sold for $3.2 million (£2.5 million), believed to be the highest price paid for a piece of Beatles memorabilia
With the sale of the Black Strat, one of rock’s most famous instruments now holds the record as the most valuable guitar ever sold at auction.
