Earlier this year, Bonhams hosted The Peter Green Collection – a high-profile auction that saw the sale of more than 150 electric guitars and acoustic guitars once owned and played by the late Fleetwood Mac legend.
Certain instruments became the poster-guitars for the mammoth sale, including Green’s 1968 Gretsch White Falcon and 1931 National Duolian Resonator – both of which were played by Joe Bonamassa in a Guitarist-exclusive pre-auction demo.
Another historic instrument to make the cut as part of the suite of highly alluring six-strings was a 1962 Silvertone Speed Demon – and now that guitar has been listed on Reverb.
Now, a quick glance at Bonhams' official site shows the guitar itself sold at auction for £1,536 – which is approximately $1,950 – with a premium included. The Reverb listing, however, has hiked the price up rather significantly: it’s got a price tag of $12,999.
Still, regardless of the mark-up, the history of the instrument itself just about makes the price tag slightly more palatable. That, and the costs of insuring and transporting the guitar come into the equation.
In terms of specs, it’s got a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, a semi-hollow maple body, and what looks to be three original Speed Bump-style soapbar pickups. The Kay-built single-cut also flashes neat body binding, a wavy-edged pickguard and a neat retro tailpiece.
Other appointments include an unorthodox pickup selector on the upper bout and ornate block pearloid inlays. Naturally, it comes accompanied by an assortment of authenticity letters signed by Bonhams and Green’s estate.
Interestingly, it seems as though the guitar was first purchased by rock outfit The Cold Stares, who showed off their new piece of gear on their Instagram account.
“Hard to get my head around this, or how blessed I am,” Cold Stares guitarist Chris Tapp said about his purchase in an a post. “Sitting in a hotel room, in London, with a 1962 Silvertone [Speed Demon] owned by one of my heroes, Peter Green.
“Inside the case three packs of strings and some scribbling that is the part of guitar archaeology that I adore. I can see why he bought this one. I could stay up all night with this one.”
In a later post, Tapp responded to a commenter by saying the Silvertone “plays and sounds amazing.”
Not only that, he also revealed he picked up more than just one of Green’s guitars: “This and the Gretsch are going up for sale,” the comment continues. “The National stays with me for good.”
When Tapp says “The National,” he means Green's 94 National. For a die-hard Peter Green fan, that’s not a bad haul at all.
To find out more about the Silvertone, head over to its Reverb listing page – and visit The Cold Stares' Instagram page for more glimpses of Green’s guitars.
