Zazzle Shop

Screen printing

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Five Most Expensive Beatles Collectibles

by Deidre Woollard
from http://www.luxist.com/

beatles Wikicollecting.org, a new collaborative wiki project for collectors, has created the a list of the top five most expensive collectibles associated with The Beatles. The popular band has spawned many museums and items that are associated with members of the band, especially in relation to the creation of their music, sell very well, often at auction at some of the world's top houses. The top collectibles are associated with the life and music of John Lennon.

1) John Lennon's Rolls-Royce Phantom V – $2.23 million. In 1985, a psychedelic hand-painted Rolls-Royce Phantom V owned by John Lennon was sold by Sotheby's. This amazing car with custom modifications including a seat that converts to a double bed, a television and an interior-exterior sound system, is housed at the Royal BC Museum. Canadian businessman Jim Pattison donated the car to the museum.

2) The piano John Lennon used to write Imagine - $2.1 million. The simple walnut-finished Steinway upright that John Lennon used to write the song "Imagine" is an example of a humble collectible that has acquired value because it is part of history. It is considered to be one of the most valuable pieces of music memorabilia with a current estimated value of $8 million to $12 million. Musician George Michael bought the piano at auction for $2.1 million in 2000 and composed the song "Patience" on it. The instrument was recently on loan to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.
3) The Wikicollecting list cites John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day in the life" - $1,202,500 as the third most valuable collectible but this may not be true. The John Lennon-penned lyrics to "A Day in the Life" were auctioned off by Sotheby's New York in June 2010. "A Day in the Life" is the last song on The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and considered to be one of the best songs of all time. The lyrics sold for $1.2 million beating the estimate of $500,000 to $700,000 but according to various sources, the record for most expensive Beatles handwritten lyric record still belongs to the lyrics for "All You Need Is Love" which sold for $1.25 million in 2005 at the Cooper Owen auction house.

4) The drum skin which appears on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - £541,250 ($1,071,133). The hand-painted bass drumskin shown on the front cover of the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band designed by artist Joe Ephgrave sold at a Christie's auction in 2008 for £541,250, nearly four times its pre-sale estimate.


5) George Harrison's Gibson SG guitar - $567,500. George Harrison's Gibson SG guitar - $567,500. A 1964 Gibson SG guitar played by George Harrison between 1966 and 1969 was sold at a Christie's New York sale in 2004 for $567,500. The guitar used by Harrison during the Revolver recording session and The Beatles' last official UK concert and was played by John Lennon during the White Album sessions in 1969.

0 comments: