A signed copy of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band has been bought at auction in the US for $290,500 (£191,000).
The selling price far exceeded the $30,000 originally estimated for the rare LP record.
It was bought by an unnamed buyer from the Midwest, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
An anonymous seller parted with the album through the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which ahead of the bidding estimated the album would sell for $30,000.
The Fab Four are believed to have signed the cover near the June 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper’s. The previous record for a signed Beatles album cover was the $150,000 paid for a copy of Meet the Beatles.
Ahead of the auction, Beatles expert Perry Cox said of the piece: “With my being thoroughly immersed in Beatles collectibles for over 30 years, it takes something extraordinarily special to excite me, but I consider this to be one of the top two items of Beatles memorabilia I’ve ever seen – the other being a signed copy of Meet The Beatles.”
The album is a U.K. Parlophone copy with a high gloss cover and gatefold.
