A once lost John Lennon guitar was sold at a California auction for $2.4 million on Sunday.
The acoustic guitar, used by Lennon to record and write early Beatles hits like “Love Me Do” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” was sold at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, reports Variety.
Julien’s Auctions said the 1962 J-160E guitar was sold Saturday to an anonymous buyer.
Lennon had originally purchased the guitar in 1962 for a mere £161, but only had it in his possession for one year before it was stolen at a 1963 Christmas concert. The guitar was then sold to aspiring musician John McCaw, who remained unaware of the guitar’s true history until he had it evaluated by experts, reports Reuters.
According to the New York Post, half of the proceeds will be donated to the Spirit Foundation, a charity organization that was founded by Lennon and his widow, Yoko Ono.
The price of the guitar far more than exceeded the auction house’s original estimates, which were between $600,000 to $800,000.
“I knew it would go over $1 million; I had no idea it would go over $2 million,” auctioneer Darren Julien said. “It’s such an important part of Lennon’s career and Beatles history,”
Other items sold at the auction include Ringo Starr's bass drumhead from the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show and Kurt Cobain's sweater from Nirvana's MTV Unplugged appearance.