A home insurance policy signed by Kurt Cobain is going under the hammer

Publish Date
Thursday, 13 August 2020, 9:32AM
Getty Images

Getty Images

Goldin Auctions have obtained the Chase Bank insurance company letter for the Seattle home where Nirvana frontman Kurt died by suicide in 1994 and which was signed with his full name, Kurt D. Cobain, just 74 days before his death.

The letter is unusual, as Kurt rarely signed his full name on any documents.

The lot includes several photographs showing what the house - which caught fire in 2016 - looked like when it was originally built.

A note on the Goldin Auctions website states: "On January 21st, 1994, the legendary grunge musician and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain signed this homeowner's insurance policy for his Lake Washington Boulevard home in Seattle, Washington. Just under three months later (74 days to be exact), the 27-year old singer was found dead in his home, the victim of suicide. In the time between signing the policy and his untimely death, Cobain finished Nirvana's final European tour and unsuccessfully visited rehab in an attempt to treat his dependence on heroin. Cobain changed alternative music in his brief career as the catalyst of Nirvana, with his band selling over 75 million records since its formation in 1987."

TMZ reports that Inscriptagraphs Memorabilia, which owns the letter, is planning to donate a portion of the proceeds to a suicide prevention charity.

The current bid stands at $10,000, although it could collect up to $100,000 at auction.

Meanwhile, Cobain's acoustic guitar from Nirvana's iconic 1993 'MTV Unplugged in New York' performance sold for a record-breaking $6 million at auction in June.

The 1959 Martin D-18E - which was often out of tune - was expected to fetch between $1million and $2 million at the online 'Music Icons' sale hosted by Julien's Auctions, but it ended up breaking the record for the most expensive guitar.

The lot came with the guitar case the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' group's late frontman Kurt used, which has a poster of Poison Idea's album 'Feel the Darkness' on it, whilst inside is a bunch of guitar strings, picks and a "stash" bag.

This article was first published on BANG Showbiz and is republished here with permission.

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