Portrait of British musician John Lennon (1940 – 1980) (center) and his wife, artist and musician Yoko Ono (extreme left) as they attend an unspecified rally in Hyde Park, London, England, 1975. (Photo by Rowland Scherman/Getty Images)

A Grammy Award given to John Lennon is expected to fetch up to $500,000 at auction. The Beatles legend and his bandmates were given the Grammy 1972 in recognition to their “significant contributions to the field of recording,” but the John didn’t want his trophy. Gotta Have Rock and Roll, a music memorabilia-based auction house, says John told the president of the Grammys: “I’m not a Beatle anymore, you can keep it.” A description of the award on the auction house’s website says, “Beatles Grammy’s are virtually impossible to find and extremely hard to obtain. This example is exceptional and is a museum quality item.” Bidding currently stands at $200,000. The auction closes on Friday.

Filed under: john lennon, The Beatles