I would think it would be around a million. It is way more iconic than the Santana kit because it was Ringo's and millions of American's first exposure to the Beatles was on the Sullivan show with him playing those very drums.

I am not sure what the drop T Beatles head from that kit went for but I know the guy who owns it says he paid more than his first house ( I have heard the figure of $125k but I don't know if that is correct) so the rest of the kit would have to bring a very large sum.

And the snare drum was used on probably every Beatles recording other than the earlier ones when he still had his Premiers. Heck, the snare alone might go for a million.

Millions of dollars

Why? For the same reasons I described in the Shrieve post when I referenced Ringo's kit. Essentially, to recap...

When an instrument becomes an icon in history -such as was the case when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show that night, it no longer represents just the musical instrument that it is.

I don't know what George Harrison's Gretsch guitar would sell for. I have no idea what Paul's Hofner bass would sell for. I can't say what John Lennon's Rickenbacher guitar would sell for. I suspect millions and millions of dollars, each. I couldn't tell you what any of their Beatle boots would sell for -or their Beatles suits. But I suspect it would be hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in a well-handled auction at Christy's or Sotheby's.

For some reason or another, these kinds of values can't be assessed in utilitarian terms once they become iconic.

I would wager well over 1 million. Those drums may be the most iconic instrument ever not just the most iconic set of drums.

I realize that this is all a hypothetical situation....but the realist in me KNOWS that those drums and all of Ringo's other Beatles era drums will NEVER be for sale, auction or otherwise. I'm sure that if the man doesn't will them to his son Zakk, that they will end up being donated to the Smithsonian or Rock n Roll Hall of Fame or something......point is, they will most likely not be in the hands of a private collector.....much like when Eric Clapton's two most famous guitars, Blackie and Brownie, went on the auction block for huge $$$, they ended up going to the Hard Rock, or Guitar Center (I forget which) rather than a private collector.

Interesting questions. I would hope that Ringo's sets would be available one day for veiewing(safely) some day. I would love to see someone get the chance to do a detailed look at his drums and report the findings. The date stamps, the serial numbers(or lack of!), the extra holes ect. Inquiring geeks want to know. Ok for a small fee I guess I could be talked into doing the dirty work. Cool Dude

Sadly I think George Harrison's original Gretsch guitar was smashed back in the Beatle days. I thought in the Beatles gear book it was said that the guitar fell of a car while going up a highway. That's too bad...