John Lennon's lost guitar will be up for auction and is projected to break records at Julien's Auctions, Yahoo reported. The ultra-rare jumbo J-160E Gibson Acoustic guitar was lost once in 1963 during The Beatles' Finsbury Park Christmas Show. The guitar miraculously showed up after 50 years after a man named John McCaw bought it from a US secondhand thrift store.
Lennon bought the guitar in Liverpool and is expected to pocket an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000 when it hits the stands on November 6 in a rock'n'roll memorabilia in Beverly Hills, California. Darren Julien, the owner of the auction, once said that the guitar is an uncovered gem and might top the all-time high record of $965,000 which was set in 2013 for a Bob Dylan electric guitar.
Reuters also confirmed that the guitar was authenticated and verified by Andy Babiuk, who is virtually the dictionary of all Beatles' instrument and musical equipment. Babiuk matched the lost guitar's serial number, wood grain, and scratches to old photos of the late Beatle playing the guitar. He also confirmed that the guitar was used to record the Beatles hit, Love Me Do, which definitely elevated the value of the guitar.
Lennon is one of the founding fathers of the legendary band The Beatles alongside Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Stuart Sutcliffe. After a tour in Germany, Sutcliffe decided to stay behind, leaving the three remaining Beatles drummer-less. The three recruited another drummer for a short stint until they took the fourth Beatle, Ringo Starr.
After 10 years of constant touring and appearances, the fab four decided to call it quits and move on with their individual careers. Lennon continued to create great music but lived a very colorful life. He went from controversy to controversy with his wife, Yoko Ono.
Lennon was shot dead on December 8, 1980 just outside his New York apartment by an obsessed fan named Mark David Chapman.
