The greatest guitar collection on earth has found its new homes.
Much of the late Jim Irsay’s extraordinary collection of musical instruments, American history artifacts, sports and pop culture items sold for a staggering $94,484,903 at Christie’s Auction House — three-and-a-half times its low estimate and the largest total of any memorabilia auction in history.
All available lots were sold over four auctions held between March 3 and 17, three of which were live and one online. The auctions broke 28 world records, including the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, with $14.55 million shelled out for David Gilmour’s “Black Strat,” blowing past the previous record of $6.11 million for Kurt Cobain’s “MTV Unplugged” Martin D-18E.
The auction also produced the second- and third-most expensive guitars of all time: Jerry Garcia’s custom-built “Tiger” guitar sold for $11.6 million and Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” guitar sold for $6.9 million.
“This was a week the market will long remember,” said Julien Pradels, president of Christie’s Americas. “The palpable excitement and sustained applause in the saleroom, combined with the record-setting results, are a tribute to a great collector and a testament to the enduring resonance of our shared cultural icons.”
The Jim Irsay Collection, which belonged to the late owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts for 28 years until his death in 2025, was unique in its variety of items that traced back to moments in time that captured the heart of America. But it was most known for its wealth of rare guitars and other instruments owned and played by some of the greatest musical artists in history, including The Beatles, Cobain, Bob Dylan and Elton John.
Among the other records set are:
- For a total guitar auction: $84,091,350
- Most expensive literary manuscript: Jack Kerouac’s original typescript scroll for “On the Road,” $12,135,000 (reportedly purchased by country singer Zach Bryan)
- For any Beatles object: John Lennon’s Broadwood upright piano, $3,247,000
- For a drumhead: Ringo Starr’s Beatles ‘Drop T’ logo drum head used on The Ed Sullivan Show, $2,881,000
- For lyrics: Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” $2,515,000
- For a horse racing object: Secretariat’s saddle worn during the 1973 Triple Crown: $1,524,000
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Irsay, a mental health advocate throughout his lifetime.
For Larry Hall, former chairman and chief curator of the Jim Irsay Collection, the auctions — and the ensuing results — are a reminder of a job he never took for granted, and a dear friend with whom he shared his passion for music and sports.
“It’s certainly a little bit bittersweet, mostly positive for me,” said Hall, who worked for the Colts starting in 1984 but is largely retired now. “I miss Jim Irsay, right?”
Hall was on site at Christie’s during the auctions, this time just as an observer.
“Jim Irsay never did it because he thought of it as an investment so much as just sharing that joy and inspiration, but I think anyone could see that, if looked at purely from an investment standpoint, (there was a) really strong return on that,” Hall said. “It just reinforces the fact that I’ve had a really fortunate position to be able to oversee the collection and do the things I’ve done.”
Irsay transformed his collection into a “traveling museum,” hosting free exhibits across the United States that allowed the public to view the artifacts for free. He also often loaned items to museums and nonprofits, and would refer to himself as the “steward” of the collection, rather than its “owner.”
Following Irsay’s death in 2025, his family decided to put the collection up for auction, offering it “new life” with the “sincerest hope that these artifacts find future stewards who understand and cherish their significance.”
“Giving back was always central to his vision, and this next chapter honors that commitment,” the Irsays said in a statement in October.
Hall agrees the auctions were an opportunity to see Irsay’s vision through.
“I remember very distinctly in San Francisco, a lady was teary-eyed in front of Tiger, the guitar,” Hall remembers. “She saw me in a suit and tie — of course, most people weren’t dressed that way, so she said, ‘Are you working with collections?’ I said, ‘Well, yes, I am,’ and she said, ‘The last time I was with my brother at a concert, this guitar was there.’ So there’s these emotions that came out of people that are the reason that Jim Irsay did it.”
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