Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler to auction some of his guitars

LONDON -- — Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler is auctioning off some “old friends” -- 120 of his guitars and amps at Christie’s auction house in London on Jan. 31, 2024, The Associated Press reported.

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Estimated sale prices range from 300 pounds ($375) for an electric-acoustic mandolin to 500,000 pounds ($625,000) for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard with a cherry red sunburst finish. The 1983 Les Paul that Knopfler played on Dire Straits’ chart-topping 1985 album “Brothers in Arms” and onstage that year at Live Aid has an estimated price of 10,000 to 15,00 pounds, AP said.

Known for his virtuoso finger-picking style that carried hits “Money for Nothing” and “Sultans of Swing,” Knopfler chose the guitars to auction for each of their individual sounds and tones. It includes world-famous brands such as Gibson, Fender, and Martin, along with custom-built models by Rudy Pensa and John Suhr, according to Christie’s website.

Knopfler said the huge and varied collection grows out of his 60-year “love affair” with guitars.” But he said he can’t play them all, and it was time to relinquish some of his “six-string companions,” AP reported.

He said he would miss them, but he hoped that other guitar lovers would have as much fun playing them as he did.

Twenty-five percent of the auction price will go to British charities, he said.