One of Chuck Berry's 1967 Gibson ES-345s is Headed to Auction

By Jackson Maxwell
published

The signed guitar came from Berry's personal collection, and was used at a private performance in 2002.

Chuck Berry's 1967 Gibson ES-345
(Image credit: Gotta Have Rock and Roll)

A signed 1967 Gibson ES-345 owned and played by Chuck Berry is headed to the auction block.

The Cherry Red guitar is being auctioned by Gotta Have Rock and Roll – the same firm that's also in the process of auctioning Eric Clapton's 1954 hardtail Strat – and features Berry's signature, and a drawing, in black felt pen.

Sporting the serial number 000037, the guitar comes from Berry's personal collection, and was given to businessman Mike Malone following its use in a private performance in Seattle on April 13, 2002.

Chuck Berry's 1967 Gibson ES-345

(Image credit: Gotta Have Rock and Roll)

Bidding for the guitar is now open, with the minimum bid set at $200,000. It's expected to sell for between $300,000 - $500,000. 

It comes with a full letter of provenance from Mike Malone, a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity, and a copy of the William Morris Agency contract for Berry to perform at the private gathering in Seattle.

For more info on the guitar, stop by gottahaverockandroll.com (opens in new tab).

Jackson Maxwell
Jackson Maxwell
Associate Editor, GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.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.