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The Beatles: NFT of Hey Jude lyrics sold for £57k

Getty Images Paul McCartney holds four year old Julian, son of his colleague John Lennon (visible in the background) during a holidayGetty Images
Sir Paul McCartney with a young Julian Lennon, with John Lennon in the background

A virtual copy of Sir Paul McCartney's handwritten notes for The Beatles' hit song Hey Jude has sold for $76,800 (£57,000) at auction.

The non-fungible token (NFT) was part of a personal collection being sold by John Lennon's son Julian.

Sir Paul wrote Hey Jude in 1968 to console the then young boy over his parents John and Cynthia's divorce.

Meanwhile, an NFT of the black cape John Lennon wore in the movie Help sold for nearly £10,000.

And a digital version of his father's Afghan coat - which featured in the Magical Mystery Tour film - sold for more than £16,000.

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Julian Lennon with the Lennon Connection: The NFT CollectionREUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Sir Paul wrote Hey Jude to console Julian after his parents divorced

NFTs are "one-of-a-kind" assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other property, but which have no tangible, physical form of their own.

The digital tokens can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets.

Part of the proceeds from the NFT digital auction in Los Angeles will go to Julian Lennon's White Feather Foundation which he set up in 2007 for indigenous, environmental, humanitarian and clean water projects.

The original handwritten Hey Jude lyrics sold at auction for £731,000 in 2020.