A model based on his classic “Frankenstein” guitar could fetch several million dollars in October
Nearly five years after his death, one of Eddie Van Halen’s most recognizable guitars will be auctioned off for the first time this fall.
As part of a rock collectibles sales by the auction house Sotheby’s, the public will be able to bid on a 1982 Kramer guitar that he played onstage with the rock band Van Halen in 1982 and 1983; it was also featured in a much-seen TV ad for the guitar company. With its black and white spray-panted stripes, the guitar resembles Van Halen’s famous “Frankenstein” from 1975 and is on that same design.
Courtesy of Sotheby’s
A few years after those Van Halen shows, according to Sotheby’s, Van Halen gifted the instrument to his guitar tech, Robin “Rudy” Leiren. (The guitar sports an inscription to Leiren.) Leirin ultimately sold it to Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars, who used it on the band’s Dr. Feelgood album. The guitar’s current owner is not known and, as with many such auctions, has requested anonymity.
When the instrument will be put on display tomorrow in Monterey, California, Sotheby’s claims it will be “the first time the guitar has appeared on public view in 40 years.” The actual auction will take place in late October, when the guitar is expected to fetch between $2-3 million.
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The sale won’t be the first time any of Van Halen’s axes have been put on the market. In late 2020, just two months after his death, three of them sold for a combined $422,000 at Julien’s Auction. One was actually a prop guitar used by the child actor in Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” video.
Since then, the value of Van Halen’s collection has clearly ramped up. In 2023, the actual “Frankenstrat” he played in that same “Hot for Teacher” clip went for $3.9 million, over $1 million more than had been expected.
