(WHNT) — In the world of rock n’ roll, the mere sight of a few legendary things has the ability to transport you back a few decades – one of those is Eddie Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” guitar.
One of the most recognizable guitars of the MTV Era, “Kramer’s Origins,” hit the auction site, Sotheby’s, with a starting bid of a mere $1.8 million. But you better hurry, because despite not having any bids, the lot is expected to close on April 18.
The Kramer CO176 is described as the first rear-loaded striped guitar Van Halen received from Paul Unkert, who was also known for making the musician’s famous yellow and black double-neck along with supplying the parts for the 5150 guitar Van Halen put together in Kramer’s workshop.
Featuring a double-cut “Strat” style body, the guitar featured in Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” video also touted a Floyd Rose bridge whammy bar, an unvarnished 22-fret maple bolt-on neck (stamped “UNK” on heel) with Kramer sticker on the headstock, unvarnished body and headstock spray painted with Van Halen’s characteristic black and white abstract stripe design on a red ground.
The instantly recognizable red, white and black stripe paint that was part of Van Halen’s original “Frankenstrat” that the guitarist built in the ’70s just might have a few Boomers draining their retirement accounts.
Speaking of Frankenstrat, another famous guitar of Van Halen’s, sold for $231,250 in 2020, despite his son Wolfgang stating that he didn’t plan to “EVER” sell any of his father’s guitars.
A few other legendary pieces that fetched some pretty pennies include Eric Claption’s 1964 Gibson ES-335 ($847,500), Jerry Garcia’s Tiger Guitar ($957,500), Bob Dylan’s Newport Strat ($965,000), Bob Marley’s Custom Washburn Hawk ($1.2 Million) and Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Strat ($2 Million) and Kurt Cobain’s ‘Unplugged’ Guitar ($6 Million).
For a detailed history of Van Halen’s iconic guitar – or maybe to place your bid – you can check out the auction site’s listing here.
