Beatles guitar makes history at auction, fetches $2.41 m

Beatles star John Lennon’s guitar, which had been lost for over 50 years, went under the hammer and was sold at a record amount of $2.41 million.

In December 1963, during The Beatles Finsbury Park Christmas Show, Lennon’s guitar went missing, which he later replaced with a 1964 model. According to Julien’s Auctions, the 1962 J-160E Gibson Acoustic guitar was in the possession of John McCaw for decades. The young musician bought it in the late 1960s without knowing it had been stolen from the legendary Beatle several years before.

Other outstanding results

Rock n’ Roll auction at Julien’s Auctions include Elvis Presley’s 24K Gold Leaf Piano, which sold for another record price of $600,000. The piano, the most important piano to be offered from Presley’s history, was played by the singer in the music room at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

The piano’s original finish was walnut but Presley’s wife, Priscilla Presley, decided to adorn the piano in 24K gold-leaf finish as a gift for the couple’s first wedding anniversary.

The most famous of the seven known Beatles drop-T logo drum heads — The Ed Sullivan drum head — was also auctioned, bringing in a final price of $2,125,000.

Notable highlights from the rockin’ auction also included Kurt Cobain’s cardigan, Michael Jackson’s jacket that he wore to Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding, MJ’s music video and album cover worn ensemble, Presley’s white deerskin leather ensemble, a Frank Sinatra painting, Joni Mitchell’s stage played guitar, a Jimi Hendrix necklace gifted by Noel Redding, Freddie Mercury “The Invisible Man” video worn sunglasses, Madonna “Evita” worn skirt suit and a lock of John Lennon’s hair and inscribed card.