A guitar belonging to the late Beatles singer John Lennon that was used in the recording session for "Paperback Writer" is expected to fetch up to £600,000 ($940,000) at an auction of rock 'n' roll memorabilia in London this weekend.
Although lot 214 - Lennon's Gretsch 6120 guitar – won't come cheap, the buyer can rest-assured they have bought "one of the most significant of John's guitars to come onto the market in the last 30 years," according to auction website tracksauction.com, which is holding the live sale Sunday afternoon.
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Sunday's auction gives Beatles fans the chance to buy what the auction house said is an "historically important instrument" - a guitar photographed at the "Paperback Writer" session held at EMI studio 3, Abbey Road, London on April 14 in 1966 – when the Beatles "were approaching the peak of their recording powers."
There are various photographs of Lennon, who was shot dead in New York in 1980, playing the guitar. The Gretsch was part of John's collection of guitars kept in the music room at Kenwood, Lennon's country mansion in Surrey, U.K. As such, it could have been used to compose hits including "I Am The Walrus," "A Day In The Life," " We Can Work It Out" and "Help!"
It is being sold by Lennon's cousin David Birch, who was given the guitar when he visited the Lennons in Weybridge in late 1967. Birch's comments on the website's sales notes that when staying with his cousin Lennon, he asked if he had a guitar that he no longer wanted, as he was trying to get a group together with some mates at the time. "I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars," he wrote. "I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster that was lying in the studio, but John suggested and gave me the Gretsch whilst we were talking."
Customers wishing to bid on the guitar - and on a full autographed LP sleeve of The Beatles' 1967 Sgt Pepper album, a snip with a starting bid of £100,000 - have had to be pre-approved by the auctioneer.
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Among the other lots in Sunday's auction are various items from the great and good of the pop music world, including signed letters, rare original lyric sheets and concert posters relating to other 60s sensations including the Rolling Stones, The Who and Bob Dylan.
The main bulk of items are related to the Beatles, however, one of the most successful bands of the 20th century. Collecting the Liverpudlian band's memorabilia can be a lifelong pursuit for die-hard fans.
In May 2014, for example, George Harrison's Rickenbacker, played by both George and John Lennon in 1963, sold for $657,000 when sold by Julien's auctions, another auction house known for its music memorabilia.
This article originally appeared in CNBC.
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