New York’s legendary Hard Rock Café recently hosted a music icon sale featuring a 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar used by The Beatles’ front man.
The instrument, first estimated at $600,000 to $800,000 prior to the auction, was eventually sold for a record $2,857,500 to an anonymous buyer over the phone. The astronomical sum made it a new record for highest-selling guitar at auction in Beatles history, the organizers said.
“The final bid of $2,857,500 echoed through the space, solidifying the Framus Hootenanny's place as the fifth most-expensive guitar ever sold,” Julien's Auctions said in a statement.
The auction house elaborated that the guitar was owned by John Lennon and used by both him and George Harrison during the recording sessions for The Beatles albums Help! (1965) and Rubber Soul (1965). It had not been played since and was found in an attic.