A Beatles fan was offered the chance to win George Harrison’s guitar – but turned it down for cash.

AJ Thompson from Saltdean won a magazine competition to take home the guitar or £100 in cash in 1964.

Mr Thompson chose to take the money – equivalent to around £2,500 today. The guitar is now likely to be sold for around £750,000.

Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions who sold the guitar, said: “He probably took about £100 at most, because that would be the intrinsic value of the guitar at the time.

“He probably took his friends and family out for a nice evening and a good dinner and some drinks and then went on with his life. If only… Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve!”

The Futurama electric guitar was bought by The Beatles star when he was a 16-year-old apprentice electrician in 1959 and was paid for in 44 instalments after his mother signed a hire purchase agreement at Frank Hessy’s music shop in Liverpool.

Next month, it will go under the hammer in Nashville, Tennessee, in the US, at Julien’s Auctions’ Played, Worn & Torn sale.

Unveiling the instrument at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool, where it will be on display until October 17, Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: “We know he played this guitar in over 324 shows at the Cavern and numerous times in Hamburg in Germany in 1960 and 1961.”

The guitar was originally priced at 55 guineas, which would have been about £58 but was £74 with the hire purchase agreement, Mr Nolan said.

He said: “We’re estimating, conservatively, 600,000 to 800,000 US dollars but I think it should sell for more than a million.”

The auction house sold John Lennon’s Hootenanny acoustic guitar for 3 million dollars (£2.3 million) earlier this year and has previously sold an acoustic guitar of Lennon’s for 2.4 million dollars (£1.8 million).