A RARE Beatles poster owned by singer Mary Hopkin has sold at auction for £28,000.
The iconic rock band's 1963 gig poster was given a £4000 to £8000 pre-auction guide price.
Hopkin, 67, from Pontardawe, sold the poster at auction as part of a collection of 1960s memorabilia.
The poster sold over the phone to a collector in San Francisco.
Hopkin was one of the first acts signed by The Beatles' Apple Records label and shot to fame in 1968 with number one single Those Were The Days.
Auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones said: "The price did shock us.
We expected it to do well - as Beatles memorabilia always does - but we didn't expect it to do anywhere near as well as it did.
"The poster is very rare as it is from early on in The Beatles' career before they made it big.
"Most venues discarded the posters at the time as they were just another touring band.
"This is a real rare gem."
The poster advertised the Fab Four's gig at The Pier Pavilion in Llandudno, Conwy county, in August 1963.
Later the same month the band went straight to number one with their second hit She Loves You, sparking the eruption of Beatlemania.
The poster was sold at the Antiques and Fine Art auction in Colwyn Bay.
A collection of stage dresses and souvenirs is being sold off by the singer at the Rogers Jones Co auction in Cardiff on 2 June.
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