A charity A discovery at a shop sold for thousands after it was revealed to be extremely rare. Beatles record.
The vinyl was found in a Cancer Research UK charity shop in Enfield and was purchased by shop manager Jaime-Marie Madden.
She initially thought it could be worth a few hundred pounds but it sold at auction for £4200.
The vinyl turned out to be a first pressing of the original masters of the band’s debut album Please Please Me from 1963.
After being obtained from the charity shop, it was processed by an online trading team and listed on eBay with a starting price of £1499.99 — but it eventually sold for £4211.89 after receiving multiple bids.
Jaime-Marie admitted that when she first spotted the vinyl she thought ‘it might only be worth a few hundred pounds.
‘The record was in good condition, with only a few marks, but the sleeve was pretty damaged and worn, with a cut at base, some scuffs, marks, ageing and stains. There was even a name written on [the] back.
‘Fortunately, at Cancer Research UK we’re trained to spot donations that can raise more money for life-saving cancer research, so after taking a few pictures and Googling the record, I knew we had something special!
‘I carefully packaged it and sent it to our online marketplaces team who spent time researching its value, and then listed it on our eBay marketplace.
‘I kept my eye on it and couldn’t believe when it sold for £4.2k! We appreciate people who donate to the charity, and we always try to make the most of donations. It’s great to see this money go to such an important cause.’
Vinyl record valuation specialist Mike Kuklenko praised the ‘amazing’ story, calling it a ‘great spot’ by Jaime-Marie.
‘“I’ve seen a few stories like this in my time as professional vinyl valuer. People have shared their old collections, thinking it will raise a few pounds, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be the one who surprises them that they have a gem or two worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
‘In this case, it is fantastic to see all this money going towards life-saving cancer research. What a find!’
After being missing for 50 years, Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘£10,000,000’ stolen bass guitar was found.
An appeal to find the 81-year-old music star’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar had been made last year in the hopes of finally tracking it down decades after it was taken from out the back of a van in London’s Notting Hill in October 1972.
And 50 years later, it was found in the attic of a family home, covered in dust.
According to The Lost Bass Project, they managed to track the guitar's journey from the theft to the pub landlord who sold it locally. They were then able to follow the bass's history over the years.
An update on the website explained, 'Due to the publicity, someone in a terraced house on the south coast of England recalled an old bass guitar in their attic.'
'They retrieved it and realized its significance. It was back with Paul McCartney within days!'
Sir Paul, who purchased the guitar for £30 in 1961, had used it during the group's early days in Hamburg and over 250 times at the Caven Club. The project's website claimed it 'powered Beatlemania'.
