John Lennon's "lost" 1962 J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar is to star in a November 6-7 sale at Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles.
The guitar, which is valued at $600,000-800,000, is a hugely important piece of Beatles history.
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Lennon used it to compose some of the band's most iconic songs and it can be heard on both Please Please Me and With the Beatles.
It went missing after a 1963 concert and has only recently resurfaced, 50 years on. It was discovered by a man named John McCaw, who reportedly found it in a second hand shop.
McCaw contacted Andy Babiuk, an expert on Beatles instruments, who explained: "I get calls and email all the time with people telling me that they think they have an instrument owned by The Beatles and 99% of the time it's nothing, but there was something about McCaw's story that was intriguing…
"Wood grain is like a fingerprint, no two are the same, and without a doubt it is a match.
"It is one of the most important of all Lennon's Beatles guitars, as he used this J-160E to write some of The Beatles' biggest hits, and played the guitar on countless live performances and on many Beatle recordings.
"It is without a doubt one of the most historically important guitars to ever come up for auction."
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