Kirk Hammett’s Black Sabbath Farewell Guitar Sells for $76,800 at Auction

Kirk Hammett’s guitar from Black Sabbath’s final concert has sold for $76,800 at Julien’s ‘Played, Worn & Torn’ auction.

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett has parted with a notable piece of his personal collection in an auction, and the guitar in question smashed expectations. The custom Gibson CEO4 he played during Black Sabbath’s farewell concert sold for $76,800, far beyond its $6,000 estimate.

The guitar was used during Metallica’s cover performance of ‘Hole in the Sky’ at Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s ‘Back to the Beginning’ show in Birmingham. That performance carried its own weight, with Hammett stepping into Sabbath’s legacy on the band’s home ground while Osbourne watched from the wings. The guitar itself was a one of one build by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian, and the sale also included Cesar’s Back To The Beginning backstage pass, signed by CEO himself.

As per Metal Injection, the sale was part of Julien’s Auctions’ annual Played, Worn & Torn event, which featured more than 800 items pulled from various eras and genres of music. Hammett contributed a large selection of pieces through The Kirk Hammett Collection, which included over 150 guitars, awards, and well-worn stage instruments connected to his decades of work in heavy music.

After the Birmingham performance, Kirk Hammett signed the SG before it joined the Gibson Gives Guitar Collection, a program designed to funnel proceeds into the Gibson Gives charity initiative. All proceeds from the guitar’s sale will benefit Gibson Gives.

Kirk Hammett has often talked about his relationship with collecting, and he shared his reasoning behind letting these instruments move on to new players. “I’ve had the collectors bug ever since I can remember. There’s a whole troop of guitars that I’ve just accumulated over the years. Some are touring guitars, and then there’s a whole batch of rare, weird stuff,” he said.

He added that he hopes they continue to be used. “It drives me crazy to see the whole bunch of guitars not being played, and that’s my hope that people buy these and play them, record with them, tour with them.”