While far from playable – it's in 3 pieces – auctioneer Gotta Have Rock and Roll estimates the Strat will fetch between $80,000 and $120,000
(Image credit: Prince/YouTube, Gotta Have Rock and Roll)
The Fender Stratocaster Prince smashed to pieces in his 1992 music video for My Name is Prince – the second single from his 14th studio album Love Symbol – is set to hit the auction block.
While it looks far from playable, the guitar will command a minimum bid of $60,000. Gotta Have Rock and Roll – the auctioneer in charge of the sale – even estimates that it will fetch between $80,000 and $120,000.
The riotous video for My Name is Prince – a hip-hop-inspired dance track – foreshadowed Prince's infamous clash with Warner Bros over his album release schedule, which led the pop icon to change his name to the ‘Love Symbol’ that features on the cover of his 1992 album.
Early on in the video, Prince raises the Strat over his head and smashes it into the ground, before leading a riot in the streets of Downtown Minneapolis.
“The guitar smashing both added to the riot aesthetic, and was also a subtle hint to the album's shift away from Prince's traditional guitar-driven rock sound,” says Gotta Have Rock and Roll.
While little is revealed regarding the obliterated instrument's specs, though it looks to be a standard hardtail sunburst Stratocaster, with a trio of single coils, master volume knob, two tone pots and a five-way selector switch.
(Image credit: Gotta Have Rock and Roll)
Though the guitar received its 15 seconds of fame in the My Name is Prince music video, there's no evidence it was used by the pop icon either onstage or in the studio at any other time.
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The guitar hits the auction block August 11 at 9AM EST. The winning bidder will also receive a certificate of authenticity and a catalog from Barney's – another auction house that had previously listed the instrument.
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
