John Lennon's guitar up for auction for more than £700,000 after being found in attic

A guitar strummed by the legendary John Lennon of The Beatles is set to fetch a minimum of $1million (£783,000) after being unearthed in a man's attic.

The acoustic instrument lay tucked away for over half-a-century in an English countryside loft before being discovered and put up for auction. The famed Framus 12-string Hootenanny guitar was played by Beatles icons Lennon and George Harrison, featuring in some of the most loved Beatles' hits.

The fabled guitar lent its sound to the creation of the Beatles' fifth album Help! as well as their sixth, Rubber Soul. Iconic tracks such as You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love, I've Just Seen a Face, Norwegian Wood and Girl all feature the musical stylings of this guitar.

The guitar, gifted by John Lennon himself, ended up in the hands of musician Gordon Waller, who formed one half of the pop duo Peter and Gordon. From there, it got passed on to a friend who stowed it away in his loft, where it lay forgotten for five decades, reports the Mirror.

Darren Julien, Executive Director and co-founder of Julien's auctions shared: "We got a call from a gentleman who said 'my parents are just moving and we didn't know that we had this guitar, or where it was. But when we were moving out of the house we pulled it out of the attic, a guitar that my father says was a John Lennon guitar and that Gordon, of Peter and Gordon, had gifted to my father in the late 60s'."

Martin J. Nolan, the Executive Director and co-founder of Julien's Auctions, revealed in a video: "The son told us that he'd always heard his dad talk about this guitar but he'd always believed that it was lost."

An expert in Beatles' history validated the authenticity of the guitar which had reportedly been missing for many years. The unique wood pattern on the guitar body, as well as the distinct pickguard design, were crucial in confirming that this was indeed a Beatles' guitar.

This treasured piece of memorabilia was not merely a recording guitar, it also featured extensively in stage performances and even in the Beatles' iconic movie Help!.

Julien's auctions is presently offering up this piece for sale at a two-day auction taking place at New York's famous Hard Rock Cafe on May 29th and 30th.

This illustrious collection comprises various remarkable music relics besides the Beatles guitar, including a setlist handwritten by Kurt Kobain, late rapper Tupac Shakur's lyric book, and a glamorous Versace outfit once worn by the legendary Tina Turner.

Bidding commenced at a base price of $150,000 (£117,000), with expectations to land bids ranging between $600,000 (£470,000) to $800,000 (£627,000). Nonetheless, the spirited bidding has already skyrocketed to an impressive $1million (£783,000).

To put this into perspective, the most expensive Beatles guitar ever sold was John Lennon's Gibson J160E, fetching a whopping $2.4 million back in 2015.