John Lennon Fingerprints Seized By FBI

Ahead of auction in New York...

09:47 8th October 2010

A set of John Lennon's fingerprints have been seized by the FBI.

The former Beatles' prints, taken at a New York police station in 1976, were due to go under the hammer at an auction house in New York.

But on Wednesday (October 6) the FBI issued a subpoena demanding the card be handed over.

"This really has nothing to do with John Lennon per se," FBI Agent James Margolin told the BBC. "It has to do with a government document."

Peter Siegel, who was behind the auction, said the prints were owned by a music trader who acquired them two decades ago.

He will now have to decide whether he wants to claim them back from the FBI.

The incident comes on the eve of what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday. Celebrations are due to be held across the globe.

MORE: Remembering John Lennon At 70: Musicians Influenced By The Beatles

Weird Rock Memorabilia

This Elvis Presley prescription bottle from 1977 â€“ sadly the drugs weren't included â€“ went under the hammer for $800 at a Las Vegas auction in May of this year. For your information, Benadryl is an antihistamine that's often taken by recreational drug users for its sedative effects.
A wooden spoon signed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the late sixties. Wtf?!
A toaster given to Elton John and his wife Renate Blauel on the wedding day in Sydney in February 1984. The ungrateful bastard that Elton is, he didn't keep the gift which went under the hammer two decades later.
A piece of Britney Spears' discarded chewing gum which was put up for auction on eBay. It was later removed as selling it broke the law because it contained Britney's DNA.
A Michael Jackson piece of toast that was flogged on eBay a few years back. The face was created by scraping all the burnt bits of the toast.
A garish-as-hell 'bird house' designed by country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. It was auctioned off in 2006 for a charity giving underprivileged kids in Tennessee free music lessons.
A rather dangerous looking lunchbox designed by The Edge from U2 fame with protruding nails. It was one of a series of lunchboxes designed by celebrities which were auctioned off for famine relief.
A bra once worn by Cher which was sold at an auction in Las Vegas in June 2007. Who in their right mind would want to buy this?
Ozzy Osbourne's keys to his quad bike â€“ the very vehicle he nearly lost his life to in a crash in December 2003. It was one of a string of bizarre items the Osbournes sold for charity in 2007.
French Madonna condoms which are now much sought after collectors items, apparently. Looking at her face is enough to put anyone off...
A sandwich and corn dog partially eaten by Britney Spears in a Los Angeles cafÃ©. A desperate member of staff stuck them in a vacuum bag and auctioned them off on eBay in 2006. We wonder what they look like now?!
A pill bottle that was prescribed to late Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia. A kind of macabre item considering Garcia died of a heart attack following years of drug abuse. It featured in a 2005 online auction.
A piece of toast featuring Pete Doherty's ugly mug made out of vegetable marmite. It was one of ten celebrity toast portraits sold by artist Dermot Flynn on eBay in 2006.