When you absolutely positively got to have it and are willing to pay and arm and a leg to get it

Are you looking for the perfect gift for that Beatles fanatic friend of yours? I thought so, but I'm going to give you some suggestions anyway. How about a handwritten letter from John Lennon to Bhaskar Menon (he was the chairman of Capitol Records back in the early 1970s when Lennon wrote the letter) calling the "rife" speculation that the Beatles would get back together "such an unfounded untrue rumour." The letter can be had for a mere pittance (i.e., between $22,000 and $25,000) through an on-line auction going on for the next 10 days or so. Incidentally, the bidding starts at $20,000.

So that's a little out of your price range, eh? Another item being auctioned off is a National Westminster Bank check made out to John Lennon signed by both Lennon and Paul McCartney in black and blue ink, respectively, dated June 14, 1976. The minimum bid on this one is a mere $9,000 and the item is expected to go for between $11,000 and $13,000.

But there's more than just Beatles items in the auction. You can start the bidding at $15,000 for Bob Dylan's handwritten working lyrics for A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall or $20,000 for a poem handwritten by Jimi Hendrix. Pictured on the right up there is the earliest known contract signed by Jimi Hendrix (the contract calls him "Jimmy" throughout) and the bidding on this one starts at $200,000.

Not everything on this list is as expensive as those mentioned. In fact, the jacket pictured here was custom made for Mick Jagger and the bidding on that item begins at only $800. There's Elvis stuff on here, Keith Moon's drumsticks, a Janis Joplin police mug shot, Grateful Dead concert posters, a sleeveless denim jacket worn by Bruce Springsteen during his Born in the U.S.A. tour, a bustier worn by Madonna during her Like a Virgin tour as well as a pair of micro cassettes containing erotic messages Madonna left on boyfriend Jim Albright's answering machine between 1992-1993 (minimum bid 25-large).

Now for those who don't want to spend this kind of cash, there are deals for you at the auction as well. How about the sheet music to Joy to the World signed by all the guys in Three Dog Night. Someone has already started the bidding on this one at $50, but I'm betting you can steal it for $70. Hurry -- only nine days, six minutes and 21 seconds left to get your bid in.