A guitar used by John Lennon has become the most expensive Beatles instrument to be sold at auction. The Framus 12-string Hootenanny fetched $2.9m (€2.7m) at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe.

It was sold by Julien's Auctions, who have previously broken records selling another one of Lennon’s acoustics for $2.4m (€2.2m) as well as Ringo Starr’s Ludwig drum kit  for $2.2m (€2m).

The Framus was being sold alongside a number of instruments formerly belonging to famous musicians, including Prince’s Cloud 3 guitar guitar, Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson’s 1965 Fender Telecaster and Bono’s 2005 Gretsch Irish Falcon, among others.

John Lennon’s Framus 12-string Hootenanny acoustic guitar ‘found in an attic’ after being lost for 50 years, has sold for $2.9m (£2.3m) via a telephone bid at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.
Lennon played ‘You've Got To Hide Your Love Away’ on the guitar in the 1965 film Help!. pic.twitter.com/zw1JRD4A7P

— Morgan Howell (@SuperSizeArt) May 30, 2024

Lennon played the 12-string acoustic on ‘You've Got To Hide Your Love Away’ in the Fab Four’s 1965 film Help!, also using it on recordings on the LP of the same name.

"This guitar is not only a piece of music history but a symbol of John Lennon’s enduring legacy,” said David Goodman, chief executive of Julien’s Auctions . "Today’s unprecedented sale is a testament to the timeless appeal and reverence of The Beatles’ music and John Lennon."