The estimated sale prices vary widely, from £300 for an electric-acoustic mandolin to a staggering £500,000 for a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

Among the notable pieces is a 1983 Les Paul featured in Dire Straits’ landmark album ‘Brothers in Arms’, priced between £10,000 and £15,000. Knopfler expressed his sentiment towards the collection, a result of his 60-year “love affair” with guitars, but noted that it was time to bid farewell to some of these cherished instruments.

A quarter of the auction’s proceeds are pledged to three charities – the British Red Cross, Brave Hearts of the North East, and the Tusk Trust Limited.