Bob Dylan's 1964 Fender Stratocaster

When Bob Dylan performed his Sunburst Fender Stratocaster at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, he made rock history. Almost 50 years later, the instrument generated another "moment" when it sold for nearly $1 million at an auction in New York on Friday — the highest price ever paid for a guitar at the sale. The absentee buyer who agreed to pay $965,000 (£590,432) for the sunburst-finish guitar was not immediately identified by Christie's auction house.

Christie's auction house has set a pre-sale estimate of $300,000-$500,000 for the instrument, which comes with its original black leather strap and hard-shell container. The previous record for an auctioned guitar was Eric Clapton's Fender, dubbed Blackie, which sold at Christie's in 2004 for $959,500.

A family from New Jersey has had Bob Dylan's 1964 Fender Stratocaster for nearly 50 years. Dylan flew out in a private plane piloted by the owner's late father, Vic Quinto, who worked for Dylan's manager. Dawn Peterson stated that her father contacted the management business about what to do with the instrument but received no response.

She took it to the PBS television show History Detectives last year to get it validated. Andy Babiuk, a consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and owner of an upstate New York antique instrument shop, and Jeff Gold, a Dylan memorabilia expert, contributed to the presentation. Both males stated definitely that it was Bob Dylan's 1964 Fender Stratocaster.

Price: $965,000