Oasis member Noel Gallagher's guitar sells for $286,000

 A guitar that belonged to Oasis member Noel Gallagher, described by its owner in 1997 as “the best in the world,” sold for £226,800 ($286,000) at a London auction on Saturday.

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher announced in late August that they were reuniting and touring their famous band, 15 years after their shock split.

The announcement sparked unparalleled enthusiasm among fans, who rushed to buy tickets to one of the tour’s shows. In September, Oasis’ debut album, “Definitely Maybe,” returned to the top of the UK album charts.

The excitement for the band’s comeback was evident at Saturday’s auction.

The guitar, a Silver Sparkle Gibson by Paul Florentine, which Noel Gallagher used to record Oasis' third album, Be Here Now, which was released in August 1997, sold for £226,800.

The guitar was custom-made for Noel Gallagher in Gibson's workshop in 1997, and he used it notably on The David Letterman Show and Saturday Night Live in the US, according to online auction house PropStore.

Noel Gallagher told Spin magazine in 1997 that it was "the best guitar in the world. It's not one of the best guitars, it's the best".

Oasis was at the height of its success at the time.

However, Oasis members Liam and Noel Gallagher separated in 2009 due to repeated disagreements between them, and the band, which was founded in 1991 in Manchester, disbanded, while each of them continued his solo career, until the announcement of the re-formation of Oasis last summer.