Rock's Rarest Artifacts

1965 Fender Stratocaster owned by Jimi Hendrix
Value: $490,000
Current Owner: Collector, United States

The first of many Fenders Hendrix burned onstage, he torched this one at the end of a show at the Astoria in Finsbury Park, North London, in March 1967. While Hendrix was off being treated for minor burns, publicist Tony Garland snatched the scorched Strat and stored it in his parents garage in Hove, East Sussex, where it collected dust for nearly 40 years. The guitar was discovered last year by Garland's nephew, who auctioned it off this last month in London. "I am going to play it," said American collector Daniel Boucher, who had the winning bid. "I hope some of it rubs off on me."