Some guitars mark an anniversary. This one marks two hundred and fifty years of a country.

We're proud to announce that Interstellar Guitars now carries one of the most historically significant instruments Martin Guitar has ever built: the Limited Edition HD-28 Semiquincentennial. It's a guitar built to commemorate America's 250th birthday, made by a company that has been part of America's story for nearly 200 of those years. And for us, it happens to be arriving during our very first year in business — which makes carrying it feel less like a coincidence and more like a fitting way to mark our own beginning.

A Tree That Watched the Revolution

What makes the Semiquincentennial edition genuinely singular isn't just the anniversary — it's the wood.

Incorporated into the endpiece, heelcap, and Liberty Bell headplate inlay is timber from the Basking Ridge White Oak, a tree believed to have stood for roughly 600 years in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, before falling in 2017. That tree was alive for the First Great Awakening. It was alive for the Revolutionary War. George Washington's troops are said to have drilled within sight of its branches, and local history holds that Washington himself once picnicked beneath it with the Marquis de Lafayette. Holding this guitar means holding a literal, physical fragment of that era — not a replica or a tribute, but wood that was actually there.The guitar's top is reclaimed Sitka spruce, chosen for its tone and its story, and it carries custom artwork from Martin Artist Robert Goetzl, whose work gives each instrument a distinct visual identity befitting something this rare. Only 250 of these guitars exist worldwide — one for each year of American independence.

The Details

The Limited Edition HD-28 Semiquincentennial features:

Basking Ridge White Oak, sourced from a 600-year-old tree with direct ties to the Revolutionary War era, used in the endpiece, heelcap, and Liberty Bell headplate inlay. A reclaimed Sitka spruce top featuring custom artwork by Martin Artist Robert Goetzl. Construction on the iconic HD-28 dreadnought platform, marking that model's own 50th anniversary. A strictly limited run of 250 individually numbered instruments worldwide.

This is not a guitar we expect to have in stock for long, and once these 250 are gone, Martin will not build another. If you've been waiting for an instrument that's genuinely once-in-a-generation, this is it.

Stop by the shop or reach out to us directly to see the Semiquincentennial in person, hear how it sounds, and hold a piece of American history for yourself.

*We are proud to be part of the story, in our first year and beyond.*