A guitar owned by John Lennon that was used to write The Beatles' 1966 hit "Paperback Writer" is expected to fetch around £600,000 ($964,361) at auction later this month.

The Gretsch 6120 guitar, which was given to Lennon's cousin David Birch as a gift in 1967, is set to hit the auction block at Le Meridien Hotel, Piccadilly, London on November 23.

"I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars," Birch told the Telegraph of how he came to own the rare piece.

"I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster that was lying in the studio but John suggested the Gretsch and gave it to me as we were talking."

Bidding for the item begins on November 14.