The navy blue Crombie-style cashmere overcoat, which Lennon wore at the height of Beatlemania, was sold to antiques dealer Larry Castle for £4,023.

Mr Castle, 39, said he was "gobsmacked and delighted at getting the bargain of the century".

The coat features a doodle of Lennon's trademark round glasses

"I think I got a really good deal and plan to sell it in London and make a profit," he said as he left the auction rooms in Bristol wearing his new purchase.

"I bought it for business but I might wear it out for dinner.

"John Lennon was my favourite Beatle. He is a fellow New Yorker. I feel I have come away with an incredible bargain and a piece of history," he added.

The coat, which features velvet trimmed collars and cuffs, has "John Winston Lennon" and "His Coat" scribbled inside as well as a doodle of his trademark round glasses.

Auctioneer Nick Ewing said: "It is very difficult to value something like this coat as the market for pop memorabilia is notoriously unpredictable.

"Lennon was an art student and always had his hands in the coat's pockets so the lining became torn.

"He took the coat to a seamstress friend of Brian Epstein but she could not mend it in time. John instead bought a new coat and told her to keep the old one."