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The jumbo J-160E Gibson Acoustic guitar, purchased by Lennon
in Liverpool, is expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000
when it goes on sale on Nov. 6 at an auction of rock'n'roll
memorabilia in Beverly Hills.
Darren Julien, owner of Julien's Auctions, called the guitar
"one of biggest finds in music history," and said its sale could
top the $965,000 auction record set in 2013 for an electric
guitar owned by Bob Dylan.
"John Lennon items don't come up very often because a lot of
people keep them. This was one of his favorite guitars, he
talked about wishing he still had it," Julien said.
Lennon died on Dec. 8, 1980, after he was shot by a fan in New
York City.
His Gibson guitar went missing in 1963 during the Beatles'
Finsbury Park Christmas Show, and turned up 50 years later,
after it was purchased by a man named John McCaw in a U.S.
second-hand goods shop.
Its authenticity was verified by Andy Babiuk, who has written
about musical equipment used by the Beatles, by matching the
guitar's serial number, wood grain and scratches to photographs
and videos of Lennon playing the instrument.
Babiuk said Lennon used the guitar to record the Beatles hit
single "Love Me Do," and played it in live shows and writing
sessions.
(Reporting by Alicia Avila for Reuters TV and Piya Sinha-Roy;
Editing by Bernard Orr)
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