Bullet under the hammer from the weapon that murdered John Lennon | Abroad

In September 1984, then Chief Inspector Brian Taylor traveled to New York to visit the well-known NYPD police force together with a group of young people in training. The trip took a nasty turn when Taylor went on patrol and the officers became involved in a shooting. As a British guest in the US, Taylor was the only one of the group who was unarmed. Bored with the situation, the NYPD came up with an original attempt to apologize. They took Taylor to a museum with weapons from infamous cases.

Such as the murder of the British John Lennon, who became mega popular with The Beatles, the most influential band in pop history. John Lennon lived with his wife Yoko Ono in the Dakota Building in New York near Central Park and was shot dead there by Mark Chapman on December 8, 1980. The revolver with which Chapman fired five bullets at the legendary musician was also on display at the museum where Chief Inspector Brian Taylor was a guest. The NYPD allowed Taylor to fire the – unfortunately infamous – weapon himself, and was given the bullet and cartridge to take home. He had everything framed, along with a photo of himself with the objects, and kept it until his death.

Now the relatives want to have the objects auctioned. This will be done next Thursday by auction house Anderson & Garland from Newcastle. Its value is difficult to estimate. “It’s one of those slightly macabre lots that you get every now and then and it catches everyone’s attention,” says Fred Wyrley-Birch, director of the auction house. “There is a rabid Beatles fan base and a market for just about anything by The Beatles. But rarely do you get something that is so unusual and unique that it is difficult to know what it is worth and whether there is a market for it or not. It’s a really interesting piece of Beatles memorabilia that probably can’t be replicated.”