Yes, like everything else, the price of cigarettes has gone up, but it’s possible that this week there will be a pack sold that becomes the “most expensive pack” ever sold. Why? Because they once belonged to Kurt Cobain!
As we’ve seen in recent years, the late Nirvana frontman’s items are typically among the most popular when they hit the auction block, and this week an unopened pack of American Spirit regular menthol cigarettes that belonged to Cobain are hitting the auction block.
The cigarettes are part of the latest Juliens Auctions live auction taking place on Nov. 17 and 18, dubbed the “PLAYED, WORN, & TORN: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ICONIC GUITARS AND MEMORABILIA” auction.
And probably to no one’s surprise, the Kurt Cobain smokes have already exceeded their initial starting bid of $200. Prior to the auction, Juliens set an estimate that the item would fetch between $800-$1200, but some early bids have already come in even exceeding the estimate. At press time, the cigarettes were going for a high bid of $2,000.
This unopened pack of American Spirit was the preferred brand of the Nirvana musician. This particular pack was saved by Cobain’s roommate at the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles where the musician once stayed in March 1994, just days before he took his own life. You can get a closer look and log in to bid on the item here.
The cigarettes are just one of several Cobain-related items on the block for the current auction, with a stage-played “Skystang 1” Fender Mustang Electric Guitar, his stage-worn jeans from the “Heart-Shaped Box” video, a yellow argyle cardigan worn by the musician, a stage-played and smashed band-signed Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, his Pignose amplifier, a signed electric guitar and a hand-drawn sketch with handwritten “Smells Like Teen Spirit” lyric notes as well as his handwritten “Afterbirth of a Nation” poem going on the block.
There’s also a Kurt Cobain “The Frogs” and other cassette tapes with handwritten notes, handwritten Cobain journal pages, band-signed posters and assorted posters, flyers, mailers and concert tickets from Nirvana’s history. All items up for bid can be found here.
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The “PLAYED, WORN, & TORN: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL ICONIC GUITARS AND MEMORABILIA” auction will be broken up into a live sale on Nov. 16 at 7PM CT and a second auction taking place live on Nov. 17-18 at 10AM CT. You can currently see the first and second lot of items available to bid upon.
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner, Loudwire