It’s bound to put the “rock” in Rockefeller Plaza.
A massive treasure trove of popular music memorabilia from the collection of the late billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts is set to go on sale at Christie’s in March — marking one of the most important auctions of historic items from the rock n’ roll age.
The sale of relics owned by Jim Irsay includes nearly priceless gems — from a drum Ringo Starr used during the Beatles’ first US TV appearance to the guitar played by Kurt Cobain in the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” The Post has learned.
The collection also includes a host of sports memorabilia owned by the former NFL boss, including a bat used by Jackie Robinson and items signed by Babe Ruth.
“It’s very rare for this many important objects to all be assembled in one place, at one time,” Christie’s head of sales for private and iconic collections Nathalie Ferneau told The Post, adding that the March 3 to 17 auction will span a variety of demographics due to the unparalleled range of pieces.
“Everyone has their own generational touch points, and this really spans all of them,” Ferneau added.
“He’s created something here that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The “Jim Irsay Collection” sale has already drawn a slew of interested collectors, Ferneau noted, and is expected to draw a record number of music fans into the free-to-enter 20 Rockefeller Plaza galleries during a public display from March 6 to 12.
Irsay was famous for his collection, which traveled around as part of a public exhibition that he offered for free. He told ESPN that he liked to buy items tied to memorable moments.
“I’ve pondered questions such as what real currency does a memory have,” Irsay told ESPN in 2023. “How did the memory serve us? Did it help form who you are? There are historic moments that shifted the whole world. History is just an incredible teacher for us.”
Several of the musical treasures are slated to fetch millions, like a drum head Starr played on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, which is expected to go for between $1 million and $2 million.
Also on the block is Cobain’s 1966 Fender Mustang guitar used in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video — for which Isray made headlines in 2022 when he paid $4.7 million for it at another auction, at which he beat out 26 bidders. The ax is expected to go for between $2 million and $5 million.
Other musical standouts include David Gilmour’s “Black Strat” — used in the recording of landmark Pink Floyd albums like “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” — as well as Jerry Garcia’s custom “Tiger” guitar and John Lennon’s 1963 Gretsch Chet Atkins used in the Beatles’ recording sessions of “Paperback Writer” and “Rain.”
The archives even include handwritten lyrics for “Hey Jude” and an affidavit filed by Paul McCartney in 1970 to break up the Beatles.
For music fans on a budget, a Joe Walsh guitar slide can be had for a low estimate of $100.
Sports fans will flock to Wayne Gretzky’s hockey jersey from 1986-87 when he scored his 500th NHL goal; Secretariat’s saddle from the horse’s US Triple Crown win in 1973 and several Babe Ruth autographs — including a ball signed by both Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Also for sale is Muhammad Ali’s WBC Heavyweight Championship Belt from his famed 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” victory, which can go for as much as $4 million.
The gargantuan collection will embark on a world tour in early 2026 before the March auction, with stops in London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Christie’s reps said.
Irsay — who took over the football team from his father in 1995 — said the collection was a major love of his life, and he refused massive offers to sell it.
“I’ve been offered $1.15 billion for the collection in totality by someone in the Middle East,” Irsay told ESPN in 2023. “I turned it down because, to me, No. 1, it’s priceless. And No. 2, I never started the collection for that reason, to look at it and say, ‘Oh, this is going to be a great investment.’”
Irsay’s daughters revealed after his death last May that they would be selling off part of the collection, with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to charity.
“Our dad was a passionate collector, driven not by possession, but by a profound appreciation for the beauty, history and cultural resonance of the items he curated,” the family said in a statement.
“From iconic instruments to handwritten lyrics by legends to rare historical artifacts and documents, each piece in the collection tells a story — and he was always so excited to share those stories with the world.”
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