Yoko Ono auctions special 'one-off' gold John Lennon coin for charity

Earlier this year, Paul wrote of how this year's commemorations of the anniversaries of John Lennon's birth and death could reinvigorate his legacy and boost the market value of his memorabilia for collectors and alternative investors.

This has since been shown to be true. Recent sales include 'the most extensive ever' Beatles collectibles collection in Beverly Hills, the auctioning of Lennon's signed LP for his killer Mark Chapman and the scheduled upcoming auction appearance of Lennon's Abbey Road suit on New Year's Day.


The not-so-limited silver version of the John Lennon commemorative £5 coin

And now, fresh from overseeing a whole range of remastered albums, box sets and other memorabilia released to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Lennon's birth, the ex-Beatles' widow Yoko Ono is now contributing to Lennon's auction legacy.

Ono has donated a limited edition commemorative coin to an auction to raise funds for the Alder Hey children's hospital in Lennon's hometown of Liverpool, UK. Ono is a patron of the hospital and is backing its Imagine fundraising appeal, itself named after Lennon's most famous solo single.

 

Overall, 5,000 coins depicting Lennon with long hair and sideburns as well as his trademark round glasses have been issued by the UK Mint. They are for sale at around £44.99 ($71.00). However, the coin consigned by Yoko for the Imagine appeal is a unique 22-carat version.

Billed as a "one-off" example in the words of Ono, it will be sold by Bonhams auction house in June 2011. And, given the continuing popularity of Lennon memorabilia among high net worth collectors, it's likely that the coin will raise a lot of money for Alder Hey.

 

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