Boston Auction House Sells Johnny Ramone's Guitar For $900K

BOSTON (AP) — The guitar played by Johnny Ramone on all 15 Ramones albums and at nearly 2,000 live performances by the rock band sold at auction over the weekend for more than $900,000, the auctioneer said Monday.

The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar was bought by a collector in the U.S. who wishes to remain anonymous, Boston-based RR Auction said in a statement.

Ramone, whose real name was John Cummings, bought the guitar to replace his original blue Ventures II, which was stolen, according to RR Auction.

It was played at every Ramones performance from November 1977 until his retirement in August 1996, RR said. He died in 2004.

The guitar, along with other Ramones memorabilia, came from the collection of Daniel Rey, a musician and producer who was also a longtime Ramones collaborator.

Some of the other items sold included Johnny Ramone's Mark-2 signature guitar for almost $50,000, and Joey Ramone's Shure microphones from the final Ramones concert for more than $13,000.

The auction began Aug. 24 and concluded Saturday.