This Early Sixties Guitar Owned by Jimi Hendrix Sold for $216,000 at an Auction

Few artists have had as large of an impact on contemporary music—including the electronic genre—as Jimi Hendrix. The late musician, who remains one of the most prolific songwriters and legendary guitarists to have ever lived, was described as “the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A guitar owned by Hendrix in the early sixties has now sold for a whopping $216,000. According to GWS Auctions, he played the Japanese sunburst electric guitar shortly after he returned home from the US Army in 1962. Hendrix then moved to London in 1966 and left the guitar in the New York apartment belonging to one of his best friends, Mike Quashie.

“After leaving Fort Campbell Jimi moved to Clarksville, Tennessee for a short time where he played on the Chitlin’ Circuit with the likes of Wilson Pickett, Slim Harpo, Sam Cooke, Ike and Tina Turner and Jackie Wilson before moving to Harlem, New York in early 1964 where he stayed until late 1966 playing venues such as Cafe Wha and the Cheetah Club,” the auction site reads.

The instrument had an initial pre-auction estimate of $50,000 and eventually reached a high bid of $180,000. When factoring in fees, the total winning bid was $216,000.

“This particular guitar sheds light on some of the earliest playing by Jimi Hendrix and is unprecedented as it relates to its historical value,” said Dame Brigitte Kruse of GWS Auctions. “Never before have we acquired a guitar of this magnitude partnered with particularly thorough provenance and value.”

Check out the iconic guitar below.