Many of the world’s most expensive guitars once belonged to rock ‘n’ roll legends, such as Dave Gilmour, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix and members of the Beatles. The guitars are often iconic, distinctive and instantly recognizable to fans, such as Prince’s “Blue Angel.” Guitars were sold, gifted, lost, stolen or, in the case of Dave Gilmour’s entire collection of electric and acoustic guitars, auctioned for charity after a long musical career and decades of use.
The demand for rare, vintage guitars continues to increase each year, particularly for those associated with famous musicians. After all, there is a very limited supply, and often, these instruments were handcrafted, made in limited editions or created specifically for an individual guitarist by the manufacturer.
Classic guitars have reached the high price levels of more traditional collectibles such as vintage cars and motorcycles, jewelry or artwork, and the demand shows no sign of slowing down. These are the most valuable vintage guitars of all time, ranked by their current value (adjusted for inflation).
Bottom Line: Jimi Hendrix 1964 Fender Stratocaster
Owned by Jimi Hendrix between 1967 and 1968, the Strat was given to his brother Leon.
Leon Hendrix said: “When Jimi came back home to Seattle with his band for the first time in 1968 we all met him at the airport and the same night he played at the Center Arena. He asked me if I was gonna get a band together. I had forgotten I had told him I was thinking about it over the phone, and I was kinda shy about it, which made him laugh.
“He had at least three guitars that were ready to go on stage, one of them he was warming up on, and there was another in an open case on the floor. He asked me if I had a guitar, and I said no, so he said take that one over there, pointing to the one in the open case.
“It’s funny, at the time, I almost didn’t take it. I said I dunno man, or something like that. He said, ‘Go ahead and take it, you don’t have to learn to play it now if you don’t want to, but I want you to have it.'”
