Kurt Cobain's smashed 1973 Fender Mustang sells for nearly half a million dollars at auction – and his distortion pedal goes for $75,000

Back in May, the 1969 Competition Stripe Mustang Kurt Cobain used in Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit video sold for a record-breaking $4.5million. While the now-unplayable 1973 Mustang he smashed onstage in 1989 didn't fetch such heights in value, it did go for over its $200,000-$400,000 when it sold at Julien's Auctions Icons And Idols auction in New York on the weekend.

The sunburst model features Cobain's handwritten messages on the body including the line 'If it's illegal to rock and roll, then throw my ass in jail' and sold for $468,000 at the auction, alongside a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal Cobain had used in a 1991 John Peel session.

The right-handed model was played upside down by southpaw Cobain in Bleach-era Nirvana gigs and met its demise as a playable instrument during a performance of the song Blew on July 9, 1989, at Sonic Temple Hall in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, during a tour when Cobain would frequently smash guitars onstage. 

'A few days later on July 15, Sluggo Cawley of the band Hullabaloo became acquainted with Cobain when Nirvana played at Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts,' wrote Julien' Auctions. 'Due to having smashed his sunburst Univox electric guitar two nights earlier (which Julien's Auctions later sold in 2016) Kurt had no guitar that evening and was only able to perform the vocals. 

'Following that performance the band stayed at Sluggo Cawley's apartment, where Kurt noticed a smashed Gibson SG hanging on Sluggo's wall. Kurt offered to trade it for the Fender Mustang he had smashed on July 9th because he thought he could repair the Gibson SG well enough to smash it again later on. Sluggo agreed to the trade and had Cobain inscribe the Mustang, signing as Nirvana, before the band moved on to their next show.'

The Boss DS-1 pedal sold for a whopping $75,000 at the same auction. Cobain had written 'NIRWAHNA' on the top and customised it further with a sticker from the band The Frogs on the bottom. 

The letter of authenticity with the pedal confirms it was used during Nirvana's final session for John Peel's BBC radio show on 3 September, 1991.  The session included a performance of the song Dumb that would feature on In Utero two years later. 

5 songs guitarists need to hear by… Nirvana