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Guitar Once Played By George Harrison Sells For $490,000 At Local Auction

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A guitar that George Harrison played in 1963 – when Beatlemania was just beginning to take fight – sold for nearly half a million dollars at an auction at the Times Square Hard Rock Café this week.

Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions said the 1963 Mastersound electric guitar went for $490,000 Friday to an undisclosed bidder at the Music Icons auction.

Julien's said Harrison borrowed it from a British music store and played it on stage several times in England and in Channel Islands in the summer of 1963.

It was offered during a two-day rock memorabilia auction.

A so-called ``penguin'' suit that Elvis Presley wore on stage in Las Vegas in 1975 sold for nearly $122,000. Presley's marriage certificate from his 1967 wedding to Priscilla Presley sold for over $40,000.

A vest worn by Jimi Hendrix sold for over $59,000. A tank top Madonna wore sold for $25,000.

At the same auction last year, another guitar played by George Harrison and by John Lennon – a 1962 Rickenbacker – sold for $657,000. That guitar was used in the Beatles' recording of "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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