An extremely rare auction of Avicii‘s personal belongings has raised over $700,000 in support of his family’s efforts to advocate for suicide prevention.
Fans of Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, were able to place bids to own a tangible memory of the iconic DJ, who in 2018 tragically died by suicide at the age of 28. Presented by Stockholms Auktionsverk, which claims to be the world’s oldest auction house, the collection included sneakers, clothes, musical instruments and other memorabilia owned by Bergling.
267 of his personal items hit the auction block on October 1st and all proceeds will benefit the Tim Bergling Foundation, a philanthropic organization launched in the wake of his death to provide support for young people experiencing mental health issues.
The totality of items sold ultimately amounted to 7,732,805 SEK—approximately $695,952 USD based on current conversion rates—with bids from over 40 countries, according to a press release shared with EDM.com.
“We are very happy with the outcome of yesterday’s charity auction, and the funds these items have generated will help us in our continued work for young people’s mental health and well-being,” said Stefan Rudels, acting director of The Tim Bergling Foundation.
Among the most sought-after items was Bergling’s Martin Custom X Series acoustic guitar, which sold for 280,000 SEK (roughly $25,500 USD) and his 2015 Fender Telecaster, which was auctioned off for 240,000 SEK (roughly $22,000 USD) after “intense telephone bidding.”
Stockholms Auktionsverk
Elsewhere in the auction, a personal DJ setup of Bergling’s sold for over $11,000 USD. An electronic music collector’s dream, the lot comprised two Pioneer CDJ-2000 Nexus DJ Multi-Players and a Pioneer DJM-900 Nexus Mixer in their original black cases.
Other highlights included a pair of Sennheiser headphones for 80,000 SEK (roughly $7,000 USD), a Pink Dolphin Cap for 70,000 SEK (roughly $6,000 USD) and a New Era Miami Marlins cap for 50,000 SEK (roughly $4,500 USD).
Stockholms Auktionsverk
“It feels fantastic to convey this significant amount to The Tim Bergling Foundation,” added Cecilia Gave, CEO of Stockholms Auktionsverk. “With this auction, we once again confirm that Stockholms Auktionsverk is the given choice when it comes to selling unique collections. We are very pleased to see how The Avicii Collection has also appealed to a younger audience. Many here in the hall have placed their very first auction bids today, and it feels very honorable for us to be a part of that.”
You can view the full auction catalog and images here.