Bob Dylan's Historic 1963 Martin Sells for $396,000

Features
By published

(Image credit: Photo Courtesy of Heritage Auctions)

A historic 1963 Martin that Bob Dylan played for over a decade—including his full set at George Harrison's legendary Concert for Bangladesh in 1971—has sold at auction for $396,000.

The auction for the guitar was held by Heritage Auctions, and took place on November 11 in Dallas. It was only the second known Dylan guitar to ever go to auction. The winning bidder requested to remain anonymous.

Dylan sold the guitar to his longtime guitar repairman, Larry Cragg, in 1977. Cragg has kept the guitar in a humidity-controlled environment, with loosened strings, ever since.

You can

watch a video of Dylan playing the guitar in question below.

Jackson Maxwell
Jackson Maxwell

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.

More about acoustic guitars
Donner Hush-I Pro

“The all-in-one music creation companion”: Donner’s HUSH-I PRO offers built-in FX and onboard IRs – and it could be the ultimate travel guitar
Kurt Cobain MTV Unplugged

“A stand-out performance by a group that changed the course of rock history in the 1990s”: The world’s most expensive guitar, Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin acoustic, is set to go on display in the UK
Shane Fontayne playing a blue Stratocaster guitar onstage in 2019

“I remember watching when The Edge started Where the Streets Have No Name. When Bono came out, I swear I saw a halo around his head!” Shane Fontayne on being mentored by Mick Ronson, joining the Boss' Other band and playing Stairway for Jimmy Page
See more latest
Most Popular
Shane Fontayne playing a blue Stratocaster guitar onstage in 2019
“I remember watching when The Edge started Where the Streets Have No Name. When Bono came out, I swear I saw a halo around his head!” Shane Fontayne on being mentored by Mick Ronson, joining the Boss' Other band and playing Stairway for Jimmy Page
Nicole Row, of American band Incubus, performs during a concert at Showcenter Complex on March 20, 2025 in Monterrey, Mexico.
“These guys started the band the same year I was born – they have a whole world of history together”: How Nicole Row went from a wild ride in Panic! at the Disco to laying down the low-end in Incubus – and rerecording their biggest album
Adrian Smith [left] and Richie Kotzen pose with an HSS S-style and Telecaster respectively.
“I started on guitar because I wanted to be in a band and meet girls. Richie wanted to be a guitar player, because he wanted to play guitar”: Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen come from different worlds, but it all comes back to the blues
James Brown 1971 during James Brown File Photos in London, United Kingdom.
“He fined me 50 bucks and fired me, even though I didn’t mess up”: The bassists of James Brown reveal what life was really like playing alongside the Godfather of Soul
The Vapors’ Dave Fenton
“I get asked, ‘What’s it like being a one-hit wonder?’ I say, ‘It’s better than being a no-hit wonder!’” The Vapors’ hit Turning Japanese was born at 4AM, but came to life when two guitarists were stuck into the same booth
Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his #1 Stratocaster (left), Stevie Wonder sits at a keyboard
“Let's play... you start it off now, Stevie”: That time Stevie Wonder jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughan... and played SRV's number one Strat
Bootsy Collins performs during the 2012 Voodoo Experience at City Park on October 26, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“The bass is the instrument you need to play the longest to become truly funky”: 20 funk bass legends who took low-end groove to new heights
Jason Newsted, Robert Trujillo,and Kirk Hammett of Metallica perform at Day Two of the bands' 30th Anniversary shows at The Fillmore on December 7, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
“There’s an art to simplicity, and Jason Newsted brought that art. Cliff Burton was more aggressive, and a busier player”: The bassists of Metallica
Patrick Patterson of Cymande feels the funk as he performs SXSW 2022, playing his sunburst Gibson ES-339 – a guitar that's served him well over the years.
“We set out to put our thoughts and musical ideas out there, hoping they’d be appreciated. That’s proved to be true”: Sampled by Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul and the Fugees, Cymande shaped the sound of hip-hop. Now they’re back to claim their legacy
[L-R] George Harrison, Aashish Khan and John Barham collaborate in the studio
“I got the impression that he needed to be quite forceful to get his songs onto Beatles records”: George Harrison orchestrator John Barham reflects on their shared love of Indian music and being conducted by Phil Spector