From Guitar.com:

Gibson Les Pauls don’t come much more iconic than this. The first Les Paul owned and approved – and subsequently heavily modified – by Les Paul himself will be up for grabs as part of Christie’s Exceptional Sale in New York on 13 October 2021.

The 1952 Goldtop, which made its television debut on the Omnibus show in October 1953, is being sold by Les Paul’s audio-engineer son Gene and Tom Doyle, the guitar-builder, engineer and producer who worked alongside Les for over 45 years.

“My father spent a lifetime chasing his dream,” said Gene Paul. “It took almost three decades from his first experiments to finally receiving this Gibson Les Paul Goldtop in 1952.

“To Les, getting this guitar officially made by Gibson was his crowning achievement. This is the one that started it all for dad… and is probably the most historically significant, iconic, valuable, and culturally important guitar that the world has ever seen.

“In my opinion, this instrument belongs in the Smithsonian next to Neil Armstrong’s boot from the Moon landing. It is a national treasure.”

I'd be very surprised if it brings less than an eight or nine digit sum when it is auctioned.

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