Beatles Album Sells For Thousands

A unique, extremely early copy of The Beatles 'White Album' has sold for £19,201 on the internet auction site eBay after furious bidding, it has been reported.

Actually named 'The Beatles', the album is renowned as one of the group's most eclectic efforts. Its troubled birth would mark the beginning of the end for The Fab Four, however the double album contains some of their most famous songs. Regarded as one of the group's creative high points, it remains one of the top ten best selling albums in the United States.

The original pressing of the album was numbered, with the lower numbered copies being particularly valuable. The record was recently given number slot in a Record Collector list of all time rarest records.

The copy available at auction has the number 0000005. Copies 0000001 to 000004 were given to The Beatles themselves, and will probably never emerge onto the open market. This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the album's release.

The rare copy was apparently scooped by a private Austrian bidder, after some furious bidding. Julia Hutton-Potts, spokesperson for eBay in the UK, described the lot as “a unique piece of memorabilia for any Beatles fan.”