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Kurt Cobain’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Music Video Guitar Is Going to Auction

The guitar that Kurt Cobain used while filming the music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is estimated to be worth upwards of $5 million.

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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If you’re a Nirvana fan with about $5 million lying around to drop on memorabilia, well, you’re in luck! The Fender Mustang that Kurt Cobain used in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video is coming up for auction.

The guitar is part of The Jim Irsay Collection: Hall of Fame from the Christie’s auction house. It was previously displayed at The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, WA, from 2010 to 2022. The instrument is estimated to cost between $2,500,000 an $5,000,000. The auction goes live on March 12, 2026.

Christie’s also noted that this guitar likely wasn’t used in the recording of the album that featured the track. “Please note that further information has come to light which strongly indicates that this guitar was not used during the recording of Nevermind,” Christie’s noted. “It is likely that Cobain acquired the guitar in August 1991 before the video shoot.”

In a “Lot Essay” on the guitar, Chritie’s explained: “For those who grew up watching MTV in the 90s, Kurt Cobain’s distinctive teal blue Fender Competition Mustang with its contrasting diagonal racing stripes remains instantly recognizable for its use in the landmark music video for Nirvana’s generational anthem ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.”

The ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ music video has over 2 billion streams on YouTube

“A seminal moment in music history, the release of the music video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ sparked a cultural sea change that saw grunge break through to the mainstream and led to the widespread popularization of alternative rock,” the lot essay continued. “While the single was already generating buzz following its release on 10 September 1991, the video sent Nirvana’s success stratospheric and catapulted frontman Kurt Cobain to global stardom as the reluctant voice of a generation.”

“Beyond the music video, Cobain made a number of notable live appearances with the Mustang,” the essay concluded. Cobain “later used the guitar during the recording of Nirvana’s critically acclaimed third and final studio album In Utero.”

Finally, the auction house offered a 1991 quote from Cobain, wherein he praised the instrument. “Out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite,” he reportedly told Guitar World.

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Kurt Cobain’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Music Video Guitar Is Going to Auction 3 minutes ago By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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