SOLD! £58,144 for the Monkey Wrench Gretsch White Falcon

13th September 2022

On 8th September 2022, Gardiner Houlgate presented a fantastic opportunity to acquire an iconic guitar, used and owned by arguably the biggest band in modern day rock music, that being Foo Fighters.

Offered with fantastic provenance, the guitar owned by Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear during the early Foo Fighters era, was also used by Dave Grohl in the video for one of the bands most recognisable hits, 'Monkey Wrench'.

Auctioneer and department head Luke Hobbs had a fantastic journey putting the guitar to market, with the story exploding across the globe, making the front pages of many online news outlets including the BBC.

With a pre-sale estimate of £15,000 - 30,000, the guitar found strong interest from collectors in the UK, Europe and US, with over fifteen sealed bids left before the auction, telephone lines booked and a handful of global bidders armed and ready to bid on the GH Live online bidding platform. Almost before the lot was announced, online bids rocketed straight to the upper estimate, before bowing out to let two remaining UK telephone bidders fight it out. The battle finished at with the total inclusive of buyers' premium coming to £58,144. 

Luke Hobbs said of the auction - "pre-sale interest was phenomenal and from memory possibly the most ever gained on one individual lot. A fan of the band myself, the journey has been a pleasure, not only to have a guitar by such an iconic band go through my hands, but to also move it on to the winning bidder, a private UK collector who himself is a self-confessed superfan. We are truly delighted for all involved."

The bumper four-day auction also featured The Gary Moore Collection and over 1100 lots of guitars, memorabilia, amps, effects and other guitar related items. Click HERE to view the full sale results...

The next guitar auction will take place on 7th - 9th December 2022, with the consignment deadline being 11th November. If you have something to sell, Luke is on hand to discuss your selling requirements.