Autographed guitars, one signed by Axl Rose and Slash of Guns n' Roses, donated to Goodwill

A Goodwill store in Sherwood Park came into possession of two guitars seemingly autographed by internationally known bands.

The two guitars came to the Goodwill by an unknown donor. When the donation attendant saw the autographs they immediately recognized that they belonged to Axl Rose and Slash of iconic rock group Guns n’ Roses.

Doug Roxburgh, director of brand integrity at Goodwill Industries Alberta, tells CTV News Edmonton that the signatures come extremely close to the real deal.

“They looked in the case, looked at the autographs, and they were actually a little blown away,” said Roxburgh. “A couple of guitar enthusiasts here in Sherwood Park actually came in and they're like, ‘It's close’. We can't verify if it's fully authentic, but it's close.”

“And then all of a sudden, I get a call. And they're like, ‘Yeah, we think we have something very special,’” Roxburgh added.

Goodwill is no stranger to valuable items being donated to their store. Roxburgh said that it’s regular for them to receive signed Edmonton Oilers merchandise, which are then sold to raise money to help people with disabilities to find employment.

Although the guitar itself isn’t a valuable piece, the autographs on them add a lot of value, given the authenticity of the autographs. Roxburgh estimates that the guitar could go for as high as $3,000, depending on how badly a buyer wants to add the piece to their collection.

CTV News Edmonton later spoke with Clinton Beck, the president and founder of Beck Antiques and Jewellery Inc., who has 35 years experience in historical items of interest. He said that judging by the type of pen used, dates beside the signatures, the type of guitar used and how the autograph strokes look, that it is extremely likely that these are real autographs.

“This looks to me like, again, this would go typical of a fan who was carrying this around concert to concert or different performances,” said Beck. “So for all intents and purposes, the signatures do look correct.”

That’s excellent news for Roxburgh regarding the one guitar, however there’s not much known about the other guitar’s authenticity.

“We've tried to identify the signatures on it and a couple of them are faded. It looks like from 2011 however, we haven't been able to identify it,” said Roxburgh.

“We started searching, you know who's toured with Guns n' Roses in the past because the guitars came together. But none of the bands lined up to the signatures on the guitar.”

Around 91 per cent of funds raised by Goodwill goes back into programs that help people with disabilities find sustainable jobs and develop valuable interview skills.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa