There has been much speculation recently about what became of Peter Tosh’s M16 rhythm guitar and his unicycle.

The two had been so integrated into his eccentricity, it wouldn’t be surprising if some of his fans felt they had actually been interred with his bones after he was murdered at his home in Barbican, St Andrew, in September, 1987.

But since last week, there has been renewed interest in the items so closely linked with the late reggae star after a report appeared on celebrity news website TMZ about the sale of his “posthumous Grammy 1988 award” for his album No Nuclear War and a “fake” acoustic guitar he used to write most of his songs.

According to TMZ, one of Tosh’s family members had apparently sold him out by unloading a couple of treasured pieces to a pawn shop in the USA.

According to “The late singer’s 1987 Grammy now belongs to Dylan McDermitt of LBC Pawn in Somerville, USA. McDermitt says a Tosh family member came into his store about five months ago, looking to unload the Grammy for Best Reggae Recording and one of Peter’s Martin acoustic guitars.

“McDermitt jumped at the opportunity and snatched the Grammy for $4k and the guitar for $2k more. He hinted the relative — whose name he doesn’t want to reveal — was hocking the items due to a family battle over Tosh’s estate.”

It also noted that Tosh did not have a will when he was shot and killed at his home in 1987.

“If you’re interested in the Tosh gear — McDermitt estimates the guitar’s worth about $15,000, and $20,000 for the Grammy,” the story added.

Within hours, Tosh’s former spouse, Marlene Brown, took the local airwaves stating that the acoustic guitar must have been a “fake”, as she still had in her possession Tosh’s acoustic guitar, as well as his famous M16 guitar.

Within days, Tosh’s estate released a statement saying the items hocked must have been all “fakes”, as the originals were still in the possession of the administrator of his estate, said to be his youngest daughter, Niambe Tosh.

In fact, Brown, who insists that Tosh married her in an informal wedding ceremony in Nigeria a couple years before he died, said that she had in her possession, as well, Tosh’s walking stick, the pipe he smoked on stage, his tour jacket, his “weed/ganja” table, and a collection of African history and herbal books he usually read.

Brown told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday that she had reached an agreement with Pulse Entertainment’s Kingsley Cooper to turn over the items she had kept with her to a new museum in memory of the reggae star, which was scheduled to be opened on his next birth date, Wednesday, October 19, at Pulse’s headquarters, Trafalgar Road, New Kingston.

“Mek them go weh. Me cyan hock my man treasure. Me know the importance of it. Me know the value of Peter Tosh, that’s why me work for him and devote my life to him,” Brown told the Sunday Observer.

The family’s response to the TMZ story also explained that they were also involved in the plans for the museum to be opened in October.

Pulse’s Cooper, in a response to the Sunday Observer yesterday, confirmed that the items needed for the museum, including the M16 guitar and the unicycle, had already been obtained from Brown and the family and were in safekeeping pending the opening of the museum.

Cooper said that the museum is a joint venture between Pulse, the Tosh Estate and Marlene Brown, and that while the opening would take place on October 19, that day being a Wednesday, a weekend of activities was also planned to follow.

“Originally, most of the exhibits came from Marlene Brown, but they are now under the control of the museum. Several items, including musical instruments, including guitars, recordings, documents, song books, various memorabilia, and personal items such as tour jackets, his unicycle, etc (are included),” he stated.

“In that regard, we have been entrusted with significant responsibility, including the preservation of artefacts, not the Grammy or the guitar referenced in the current story. These were always in the US, outside of our control,” Cooper said.

Cooper also confirmed that a few of the items were shown to Prime Minister Andrew Holness at Jamaica House last week, and the Prime Minister gave the museum his blessings and promised whatever support the Government could give the project.