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5d ago

Irsay Collection Smashes Estimates With $93.66 Million Sale, Setting 23 Auction Records

Christie's says part of the proceeds will go to causes Jim Irsay supported.

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Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, talks about his purchase of the original manuscript of the first draft of Jack Kerouac's "On The Road," in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004. Irsay bought Kerouac's epic for $2.43 million, a 50-year-old, 120-foot scroll of single-spaced typewritten account of his trip about wandering across America. Beginning this week at the Orange County History Center in Orlando, Fla., and ending with a three-month stay at the New York Public Library in 2007, Kerouac's "On the Road" scroll will make a 13-stop, four-year national tour of museums and libraries. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings))
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Overview

  • Live auctions at Christie's from March 12–14 realized $93,656,609, nearly $50 million above the $40 million pre-sale estimate.
  • Twenty-three records fell, led by David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' at $14.55 million and Jack Kerouac's On the Road typescript at $12.135 million.
  • Guitars dominated with roughly $84 million in sales, including Jerry Garcia's 'Tiger' at $11.56 million and Kurt Cobain's 1969 Fender Mustang at $6.9 million.
  • Sports highlights included Secretariat's 1973 Triple Crown saddle at $1.524 million, Wayne Gretzky's 500th-goal Oilers jersey at $952,500, Muhammad Ali's robe at $444,500, and a 1953 Jackie Robinson bat at $406,400.
  • Online estate sales continue, Christie’s says a portion of proceeds will fund Irsay-backed philanthropy, and the FBI investigation into his 2025 death remains active.