Since the death of Kurt Cobain back in 1994, Kurt Cobain’s famous MTV Unplugged guitar has been passed down through the hands of many of his family members.
Frances and estranged husband Isaiah Silva are now in the midst of a messy divorce, and the rightful owner of the prized possession is under question. Per reports, Silva claims Frances gave the 1959 Martin D-18E to him as a present and is refusing to return it. But, Frances denies ever gifting it to him.
In addition to its monetary value from Nirvana, Cobain’s guitar is estimated to be worth millions of dollars — the guitar is said to be only one of 300 made at the time and possibly the last one the Nirvana frontman played before his passing.
Love recently spoke on the issue, “It’s not his to take,”when she was asked about Silva’s claims to the famous guitar. She then went on to call the guitar a “treasured heirloom” and more that it was meant to stay in the family and said Frances had “never planned” on giving it away for good.
On November 18, 1993 Kurt Cobain sat with Nirvana in New York’s Sony Music Studios wearing a now famous ripped cardigan and carrying a 1959 Martin D-18E guitar. A few months after that MTV Unplugged set, which became one of the band’s most iconic performances, Kurt Cobain shot himself. After a year, the performance was released as a live album, which was certified platinum 5 times by 1997. Since then, many regard it as one of the greatest albums of all time. That 1959 Martin D-18E guitar is one of only 300 ever made, and worth thousands of dollars. The MTV Unplugged performance guitar is also the last known guitar that Cobain played before his tragic death.
And since Cobain’s death in 1994, it’s been passed around the family from Courtney Love to the couple’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. Today, however, the guitar’s fate is a up in the air: Frances and her ex-husband Isaiah Silva are embroiled in a messy divorce, and Silva refuses to return the guitar.
“It’s not his to take,” Courtney Love said. “It’s a treasured heirloom of the family’s.”