Beatles' Bass in Dick Clark Auction May Be a Fake

Dec. 5, 2006 — -- It looks like one of the featured items in the auction of Dick Clark's celebrated memorabilia collection may be a fake.

One of the featured items in the Dick Clark Auction scheduled today at Guernsey's Auction House was Paul McCartney's autographed Beatles' era, left-handed Hofner bass guitar.

It was estimated to sell for $25,000 to $100,000; however, the makers of the Hofner have told "Good Morning America" that the model wasn't made until 1978, years after the Beatles disbanded.

Guernsey's Auction House has agreed to remove the guitar, for now.

"In as much as time does not permit us to properly investigate the matter, the lot will be removed from the event. Depending on the outcome of our research, the bass guitar may be offered at a future date," Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's Auction House, said in a statement.

The Dick Clark Auction has been called possibly the largest in rock 'n' roll history, with items from Michael Jackson's glove to Madonna's bustier up for bids.

In October, the alleged McCartney Hofner bass was promoted on a number of media outlets, including "GMA."

Shortly after it was shown on "GMA," questions about the authenticity of the guitar were raised.

Beatles signature expert Frank Caiazzo has spent 20 years studying Beatles signatures. Caiazzo inspected the bass while it was on display prior to the auction.

"Very shaky signature," he said. "You can see that it is slowly executed."

"When I saw the Hofner bass, in my opinion, the signatures on the bass were not authentic. Both signatures," he said. "They stood out to me as being very shaky forgeries, done by somebody with limited skill."

Andy Babiuk, author of the book "Beatles Gear," has studied the history of the Beatles instruments.