Lennon Guitar Stolen In 1963 Sells For $2.4m.

A guitar stolen from John Lennon before it went missing for 50 years has been sold for $2.4m (£1.6m) at an auction in California.

The Beatles star used the J-160E acoustic guitar for a year in 1962 to record and write hit songs such as "Love Me Do" and ''I Want to Hold Your Hand".

Novice musician John McCaw bought it in the late 1960s without knowing it had been stolen from Lennon at a Christmas concert in 1963, auctioneer Darren Julien told Reuters.

Its whereabouts were unknown for half a decade until a man in California discovered that the guitar in his possession may have historical value.

Julien's Auctions sold it to an undisclosed buyer for one of highest prices for rock and roll memorabilia.

Mr Julien said: "It's such an important part of Lennon's career and Beatles history. I knew it would go over $1m; I had no idea it would go over $2m."

The price far surpasses the $965,000 paid at a 2013 Christie's auction for an electric guitar owned by Bob Dylan.

A Fender Stratocaster guitar - signed by the likes of Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Paul McCartney - sold for a record $2.7m in 2005.

The auction house also fetched $2.1m for a Beatles drum head used during their historic appearances on the The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.



Sky News.
Culled from Yahoo News.