Dylan Acoustic Guitar Goes For Big Bucks At Auction

Bob Dylan's main 1970s acoustic guitar sold at auction over the weekend -- for substantially more than was anticipated. 

The 1963 Martin D-28 that Dylan played at shows such as George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh in 1971 and during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1975-76 sold to an anonymous bidder for $396,500 on Saturday (November 11) after Heritage Auctions of Dallas predicted it would fetch up to $300,000.

The guitar was offered by Dylan's former guitar tech Larry Cragg, who bought the instrument from Dylan for $500 in 1977. Cragg claims he's never played the guitar and kept it in original shape in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment; In a statement, Cragg -- who's also worked for Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Prince and others -- says "it's kind of past being a guitar now. It's the kind of thing that you'd think that people would put in a glass case or in a museum somewhere."

Dylan guitars have been big news at auctions before; The Fender Stratocaster he played at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival fetched nearly $1 million back in 2013 at a Christie's auction in New York City.

Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.