( CNN ) -- The more I think about it the more I am convinced I need one of Eric Clapton 's old guitars . Bonhams is hosting an auction of `` Slowhand 's '' gear in New York . I really should be there and as a responsible parent make some investments for my children 's futures . Now nobody should take financial advice from a washed-up , failed rock guitarist like me . But if you will just go with me on this , I do think I may be onto something . No doubt , vintage guitars made by the right company , at the right time , and played by the right people , are a serious investment opportunity . Headlines were made in 2004 when Clapton 's Blackie guitar sold for $ 959,000 . Actually that guitar broke one of the usual rules for collectors because it was not all original . He had swapped parts from other guitars , which usually kills the resale value . But what it did have was provenance . And what provenance . This was the guitar that Clapton had used over two decades , both in the studio and on stage . It also had a lot of people who wanted to buy it -- baby boomers who grew up with Clapton , the provider of soundtracks for their lives . And you can own the very guitar he played those tunes on ? If you had just under a million bucks burning a hole your pocket it would be crazy not to . There is nothing that iconic at these sales , but there is a range of very tasty Clapton stuff . Beyond guitars there are amplifiers ( also very collectable ) , stage clothes and other memorabilia . As an investment , provided you avoid bidding frenzy , these would be instruments of unquestioned authenticity , many of which have been used on record and in public performance by a star who has been making music and selling out concerts for nearly 40 years . The money Clapton raised in these sales goes to the Crossroads Centre , which he founded , which treats drug and alcohol addiction . So , it 's for a good cause , it 's a good investment , and you finish up with a really cool guitar . Guitars can be a great investment . Key vintage Fender guitars more than doubled in value in the last decade . If you have an original `` Strat '' from the 1950s or early 1960s in what as known as a custom color ( taken from popular auto colors of the period ) , you could be looking at a value of up to $ 50,000 -- not bad for something that would not have cost more than $ 100 when new . Of course most people who bought them back then did not do so thinking they were long-term investments so parts were changed , the finishes were battered and repainted and value was subsequently diminished . I bought a 1961 Strat all original expect for having been stripped down to the wood . It cost between half and a third of what it would have done if the paint had still been on . Now there is a thriving trade in so called `` relic guitars '' which are new but treated to give the impression of a battered old road warrior . Worrying , there are also a lot of guitars being sold as original vintage pieces , which have had parts changed out . The money involved makes it worthwhile for the fakers who go to great lengths to disguise the changes . So the buyer beware , and always seek out what provenance and guarantees you can . There is one guitar that is the Stradivarius for collectors . It is the Gibson Les Paul Standard , made between 1958 and 1960 . If you had bought one back then -- and you may well have got a discount because it was not a big seller at the time -- you would now be sitting on a guitar which can change hands for well in excess of $ 250,000 . How does that happen ? Well , it brings us back to Clapton . He played a Les Paul on an album by John Mayall and Blues Breakers . The recording is legendary among guitar players . Suddenly the discontinued Les Paul was in demand . Its value rose , and then soared as it was adopted by one superstar after another . We are talking Keith Richards , Fleetwood Mac 's Peter Green , Led Zeppelin 's Jimmy Page . Music world honors Les Paul . Clapton 's Les Paul is thought to have been stolen while he was in rehearsals with his band Cream . Now if that ever showed up , Blackie might well end up being the second most valuable guitar sold in open auction . So if you want to buy a vintage guitar and have a partner who takes an alternative perspective , point out you are doing it for them , for their future . And if you find yourself bidding against some heavy set , balding guy , who looks like he knows he really should not be there , give him a break and let him win .
Bonhams auctioneers selling more than 70 Eric Clapton guitars . The auction house said the guitar was a'special edition' of one that had been sold in 2008 for £2.3million. Provenance and a star owner are often key to a good sale price , Maddox says . In 2004 Clapton 's Blackie guitar sold for $ 959,000 ; this sale has a reproduction of the iconic instrument .