Want to own one of the most important instruments in pop history? If you have a few hundred thousand dollars to spare you could soon have a chance, since the acoustic guitar that John Lennon used to write some of the Beatles' earliest hits has now popped up more than 50 years after it was lost. The guitar will hit the auction block in November.
According to CNN, Lennon played the 1962 model Gibson J-160E guitar while recording songs like "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You," and he reportedly used it to co-write hits like "She Loves You" and "All My Loving." Lennon also played it during live performances. George Harrison owned the same model instrumental.
Lennon's guitar went missing in London in December 1963, and it next popped up in San Diego in the '70s, where amateur guitarist John McCaw purchased it. He didn't know that it was Lennon's until Beatles instrument expert Andy Babiuk verified its authenticity using features like the wood grain, serial number and unique pickguard.
The guitar will go up for sale through Los Angeles auctioneer Julien's Auctions. It's expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000 USD (between $746,370 and $995,160 CAD). Below, see video footage of Lennon playing the guitar.
For Beatles enthusiasts who want to own the J-160E but don't want to pay close to a million dollars, Gibson more recently reissued the guitar. (That's a photo of the reissue above.)
This is the second Beatles guitar to go up for auction in as many years. Last year, Harrison's 1962 Rickenbacker sold for $657,000 USD ($817,275 CAD).
According to CNN, Lennon played the 1962 model Gibson J-160E guitar while recording songs like "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You," and he reportedly used it to co-write hits like "She Loves You" and "All My Loving." Lennon also played it during live performances. George Harrison owned the same model instrumental.
Lennon's guitar went missing in London in December 1963, and it next popped up in San Diego in the '70s, where amateur guitarist John McCaw purchased it. He didn't know that it was Lennon's until Beatles instrument expert Andy Babiuk verified its authenticity using features like the wood grain, serial number and unique pickguard.
The guitar will go up for sale through Los Angeles auctioneer Julien's Auctions. It's expected to fetch between $600,000 and $800,000 USD (between $746,370 and $995,160 CAD). Below, see video footage of Lennon playing the guitar.
For Beatles enthusiasts who want to own the J-160E but don't want to pay close to a million dollars, Gibson more recently reissued the guitar. (That's a photo of the reissue above.)
This is the second Beatles guitar to go up for auction in as many years. Last year, Harrison's 1962 Rickenbacker sold for $657,000 USD ($817,275 CAD).
