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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Sotheby’s auctioned Eddie Van Halen’s circa-1982 Kramer guitar in October 2025, five years after his death. The lot closed on October 24 with an estimate of $2 million to $3 million, but Sotheby’s accessible listing does not disclose the realized price. The instrument was cataloged as a custom-built, stage-used guitar, serial B1297, with Van Halen’s red, white, and black striped design.
What happened to the guitar at auction?
Sotheby’s announced on August 12, 2025, that the guitar would be offered at its New York auction. The lot page records the sale as closed on October 24, 2025, at 04:20 PM GMT. The catalog estimate was $2,000,000–$3,000,000; that figure was an estimate, not a confirmed sale price. The accessible listing does not show the realized price. Sotheby’s announcement and lot listing.
The timing was five years after Van Halen’s death in October 2020. A contemporaneous Euronews report published August 13, 2025, also described the timing as five years after his death. Euronews called it the first guitar with Van Halen’s trademark design to be auctioned; that is the outlet’s characterization, not a claim established by Sotheby’s catalog.
What was the 1982 Kramer like?
Sotheby’s cataloged lot 20 as a custom-built, owned, and stage-used Kramer electric guitar from around 1982, serial number B1297. Its double-cutaway body carries red, white, and black stripes in the “Frankenstein” style. The reverse of the headstock is marked “#1 Edward Van Halen Model” in white Gothic-style lettering.
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The catalog describes the neck pickup as in place and the bridge and middle pickups as wired together. It also notes one black tone knob, a worn black pickguard, and a silver tremolo. These details identify the specific auction lot; they do not establish that it was Van Halen’s only or definitive guitar during that period.
What provenance and condition did Sotheby’s report?
Sotheby’s says the guitar bears an inscription to Rudy Leiren, Van Halen’s guitar technician in the 1980s: “Rude – Its Been a Great Ten Years – Lets Do Another Ten. Eddie Van Halen”. The lot included a provenance letter from Mick Mars, along with a hard-shell case bearing a gold Kramer logo and lined with black faux fur, a key, and a coiled extra string in its original sleeve. The letter’s inclusion is a catalog statement; it should not be treated by itself as independent authentication.
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Sotheby’s condition text says, “Guitar finish exhibits extensive wear and soiling from use.” Its more detailed condition report requires login, so the public listing does not provide a fuller account of the instrument’s condition or modifications.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should the estimate be understood?
The $2 million–$3 million figure was Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate for this lot. Because the accessible listing does not report a realized price, it cannot establish what a buyer paid or whether the final figure fell inside or outside the estimate. No market-wide statistic or separate comparison study is established by the cited material.
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For anyone comparing celebrity instruments, useful evidence includes documented ownership and stage use, the provenance chain, contemporaneous photographs or performance records, condition and modifications, and whether a quoted number is an estimate or an actual sale result. Those factors are questions to investigate, not evidence that this guitar achieved a particular price.
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