The Maton Mastersound MS-500 played by George Harrison at the Beatles’ final performance at Liverpool’s Cavern Club has sold at auction for £347,000, or approximately $456,147. The guitar was sold through the Gardiner Houlgate auction house on September 13, with the winning bid coming by phone from an overseas private collector.
Harrison played the MS-500 in the summer 1963 while his standard guitar at the time, a Gretsch Country Gentleman, was under repair. According to Gardiner Houlgate, Harrison played the Maton in concert at several Beatles dates, including July 8-13 at the Winter Gardens, August 2 at the Grafton Rooms and August 3 at the Cavern Club, the band’s last performance at the iconic venue.