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Prince’s custom gold leaf Fender Stratocaster is going up for auction

Goldfinger features a ‘finish’ of meticulously applied gold leaf.

Prince with Goldfinger

Photo: Kevin Mazur / NPG Records 2010

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Another of Prince’s custom made guitars has been announced for auction this year. This time, Goldfinger, the late musician’s custom prototype gold leaf Fender Stratocaster will be going under the hammer, with a minimum bid set at $150,000.

According to auction house Gotta Have Rock And Roll, the prototype Strat was built by the Fender Custom Shop and sports a ‘finish’ composed entirely of gold leaf applied directly onto its body by Master Builder Yuriy Shishkov, as well as a neck made of figured tiger-stripe maple crafted by Master Builder Greg Fessler.

After Prince himself inspected the instrument, a spec revision was made that saw a new neck profile and custom pickup selection introduced to its design. This design would be used to custom build a completely new instrument that the artist took on his Welcome 2 world tour of 2010-12.

Goldfinger, the prototype itself, was played at the rehearsals for, and the kickoff show for the tour at the Apollo Theater in New York City on 24 October 2010.

Along with Goldfinger, the winning bid will also take home the guitar’s custom Morris & Holmberg flight case – one of only two in existence. The instrument will also come with a Fender Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity signed by Yuriy Shishkov and a tour book that mentions the guitar.

Prince's Goldfinger
Goldfinger in its case / Photo: Gotta Have Rock And Roll

Bidding on Goldfinger begins Wednesday, 22 July 2020. Learn more, here.

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