Ringo Starr Memorabilia: The Ten Most Valuable Items

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Ringo Starr Memorabilia: The Ten Most Valuable Items
Posted in Music Memorabilia
December 7 2015

Here are the ten most valuable pieces of music memorabilia from 
the career of former Beatle Ringo Starr. The vast majority 
of items were sold by Starr himself, during a landmark auction at Julien's in 
December 2015 which realized almost $10 million.

Onyx ring

(Image: Julien's)

Richard Starkey became Ringo Starr in 1959, when he joined 
former skiffle-turned-rock-and-roll band Rory Storm and the 
Hurricanes. His new stage name was partially inspired by his 
habit of constantly wearing rings wherever he went, including 
this 10k yellow gold onyx ring dated circa 1920.

It was still on his finger when he joined The Beatles in 1962, 
and remained there for years, throughout performances, 
recording sessions, press conferences and his everyday life. 
According to Starr he wore this ring during every live show 
he ever played with the Beatles, and it can be seen in 
countless photographs from the period. It sold at Julien's in 
December 2015 for $100,000.

Pinky ring

(Image: Julien's)

Another of the rings that made Ringo 'Ringo' was this synthetic 
colour-change sapphire pinky ring, also dating from his 
pre-Beatles music career. Ringo also wore this ring for ever 
live performance he ever gave with the Fab Four, and it can 
even be seen on-screen in their movie debut 'A Hard Day's 
Night'.

Described as a "talismanic Rock n' Roll relic", the pinky ring 
sold at Julien's in 2015 for $106,250. The winning bidder was 
Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts and one of the 
world's foremost collectors of Beatles memorabilia.

'Hello, Goodbye' video drum kit

(Image: Julien's)

Ringo had this Ludwig silver sparkle drum kit custom-made in 
October 1967, and it appeared in the Paul McCartney-directed 
video for Hello, Goodbye. The video was produced specially 
for The Ed Sullivan Show, and show during the episode in 
which CBS-Studio 50 was renamed The Ed Sullivan Theatre 
in the presenter's honour.

Starr can be seen playing three kits during the video, including 
a 'midget' Star Micro Bop set which he allegedly gave to his 
son Zak as his first childhood drum kit.

In contrast the Ludwig silver sparkle set was oversized, and 
Starr later recalled: "It was giant! I ordered it with these big 
sizes to see how it would sound in the studio. But when we 
got it, I couldn't play it: I couldn't get my legs around the 
snare! We used some of the drums later for overdubs on a 
few songs."

This unique kit sold at Julien's in December 2015 for 
$115,200.

Sgt Pepper panel from John Lennon & 

Ringo Starr's gypsy caravan

(Image: Julien's)

In 1967 John Lennon purchased a gypsy caravan as a gift for 
son Julian's fourth birthday, and hired a group of artists known 
as 'The Fool' to give it a psychedelic 'Sgt Pepper' paint job 
(just as they did to his Rolls Royce a few months later).

Having used it for family holidays around Europe, the 
horse-drawn caravan was retired to Lennon's garden at 
Tittenhurst Park and remained there when he moved to New 
York in 1971. It was inherited by the country house's new 
owner, Ringo Starr, who had it fully restored in 1983 following 
Lennon's tragic death. However, when Starr subsequently 
moved in the late 1980s the caravan stayed where it was, and 
slowly rotted away until being rediscovered in 2013 by the 
new owner of the house, who plans to restore it once again.

One part of the caravan which left with Ringo when he moved 
was the wooden back panel, featuring the hand-painted iconic 
'Sgt Pepper'drum logo. This original panel, owned by two of 
the Fab Four, sold at Julien's in December 2015 for $125,000.

Gretsch guitar gifted to Ringo by George 

Harrison's family

(Image: Julien's)

Following George Harrison's death in 2001, his friends and 
family organized a tribute concert for him in 2002 at the Royal 
Albert Hall. 
The Concert for George featured Paul McCartney and Ringo 
Starr, alongside an all-star band featuring Eric Clapton, Jeff 
Lynne, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Gary Brooker 
and many others, performing Harrison's songs from throughout 
his career.

Following the concert on November 29, Harrison's widow 
Olivia and son Dhani sent Ringo a Christmas gift to thank 
him for his performance – this 1962 Chet Atkins Gretsch 
Tennessean electric guitar. Formerly owned by Harrison, 
the guitar was accompanied by a card which read 
"Dear / Richy / Happy Christmas / & Love you loads / 
2002 from Oli & Dhani / x".

The guitar was sold at Julien's in December 2015 for 
$179,200.

Patek Philippe wristwatch

(Image: Julien's)

This 18k yellow gold wristwatch was made by Patek Philippe, 
the Swiss manufacturer responsible for making the world's 
finest timepieces. 
The highly rare Ref. 3448 watch featured a perpetual calendar 
and moon phases amongst its complications, and was one of 
just 586 examples ever made.

Acquired new by Ringo in 1971, the watch sold at Julien's in 
December 2015 for $179,200.

1964 Facel Vega II Coupé

(Image: Bonhams)

Ringo first bought this car in November 1965, having just 
completed his starring role in the band's second feature film 
Help! With the band riding high on both sides of the Atlantic, 
Ringo decided to treat himself to a sports car and chose this 
1964 Facel Vega II Coupé.

He drove it happily for three years, but with the birth of his 
second son Jason in August 1967 it seemed Ringo realized he 
might need a more practical car. In an interview with the 
Evening Standard in March 1968, Ringo stated: "I like the 
security of marriage and the family. In fact, I'm thinking of 
selling my Facel Vega and getting an ordinary family saloon, 
something like a Mercedes."

Having passed through several collections over the years, the 
rare Facel Vega II Coupé eventually sold at Bonhams in 2013 
for $510,960.

The White Album No.0000001

(Image: Julien's)

The first The Beatles' White Album rolled out of the pressing 
plant in November 1968, with each of the album sleeves 
featuring its own unique edition number. Those numbered 
'0000001' to '0000004' were unsurprisingly snapped up by 
the band themselves.

Although it was believed John Lennon had snagged the first 
copy for himself, the record had in fact been given to Ringo 
and it spent more than 35 years locked away in his London 
bank vault before being auction at Julien's in December 2015.

The earliest copy of the record previously sold was 
'0000005', which fetched almost $30,000 on eBay in 2008. 
Copy '0000001' was estimated to sell for $40,000-$60,000, 
but achieved an incredible final price of $790,000 – making 
it the world's most expensive record ever sold, and more 
than doubling the previous record of $300,000 set by Elvis 
Presley's first acetate recording.

Rickenbacker guitar gifted to Ringo by 

John Lennon

(Image: Julien's)

This 1964 Rose-Morris Rickenbacker guitar originally 
belonged to John Lennon, who acquired it in December 
1964 as a replacement for his damaged Rickenbacker 325. 
He played it during the band's series of Christmas shows 
that year, and it remained in his personal collection 
until 1968.

Whilst The Beatles were in the studio recording The White 
Album in 1968, tensions rose and arguments led to Ringo 
quitting the band (for two weeks at least). He returned back 
from a holiday with his family to find his drum kit covered 
in flowers, and presented the band with a new song he'd 
written, 'Octopus's Garden'.

John Lennon then gave this guitar to Ringo, as both a further 
peacemaking gift and an encouragement to write more songs 
of his own. Starr kept the guitar in his personal collection for 
almost five decades, before selling it at Julien's in December 
2015 for $910,000 (the second major lot in the sale purchased 
by renowned collector Jim Irsay).

#1 Ludwig Drum Kit

(Image: Julien's)

Starr acquired this Lugwig Oyster Black Pearl 3-piece drum 
kit in May 1963, as a replacement for his well-worn 
Mahogany Duroplastic 4-piece Premier kit. Having been 
chosen by Starr, the kit was then purchased from Drum City 
Ltd. in London by Brian Epstein, who also ordered that it 
should include the band's name on the bass drum.

According to legend, store owner Ivor Arbiter quickly 
sketched the band's name with an emphasis on the "beat". 
He then paid local sign painter Eddie Stokes to hand-paint 
the drum, and pair unknowingly created the most famous 
band logo in music history.

Starr received the kit, complete with the 'Drop T' logo, 
and used it for more than 200 live performances and 
over 180 studio recordings as The Beatles went from 
local heroes to international superstars.

It was finally retired in February 1964, on the eve of 
The Beatles' landmark first American tour. The band 
travelled light during this 'British Invasion', and purchased 
a new drum kit when they arrived in the U.S for use 
during live shows and their appearances on The Ed 
Sullivan Show.

Ringo bought another new kit when they returned to the U.K, 
and his original Ludwig kit remained hidden away in storage 
for decades before being restored in 2013. It eventually sold 
at Julien's in December 2015 for $2,110,000, setting a record 
price for Ringo Starr memorabilia and making it the world's 
most valuable drum kit.

It was the third item in the auction purchased by Jim Irsay, 
who claims to have spent four million dollars and 45 years 
putting a set of Beatles instruments back together.