Kurt Cobain’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit" guitar sells for over £3.5 million at auction

Last Friday (20 May) Cobain's left-handed 1969 Fender Mustang guitar used in Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video went up for auction, and exceeded the estimated sale price of $600,000-800,000.

Julien's Auctions sold the legendary guitar over the weekend for $4,550,000, which is over £3.5 million, to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. Spin reports that Irsay said, "I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at [the] world. The fact that a portion of the proceeds will go toward our effort to kick the stigma surrounding mental health makes this acquisition even more special to me."

Darren Julien, the President/Chief Executive Officer of Julien’s Auctions added, "To have this legendary guitar, one of the most culturally significant and historically important guitars of Kurt Cobain and in all of rock music history return to my home state of Indiana to be part of Jim Irsay’s renowned memorabilia collection is a great honor and personal highlight of my life. This once-in-a-lifetime auction has been one of the greatest privileges in my professional career and I’m duly pleased that the proceeds will also bring much needed attention to mental health awareness."