The Edge calls it his New Year's Day guitar. He bought the 1975 Gibson Les Paul in a shop on 49th Street in New York City in 1982 with the intention of recreating the punk sound generated by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.
By his own admission he failed at that, but the yellow guitar with its two distinctive dents has featured on every U2 album and has been played at countless concerts.
The guitar, along with other rock and roll memorabilia, is on display at the U2-owned Clarence Hotel in Dublin ahead of their sale at a charity auction next month.
Its importance to The Edge - it was only the third guitar he owned - is reflected in the price expected for the instrument of $60,000-$80,000 (€45,000-€60,000)
The proceeds will go to Music Rising, a charity set up in 2005 by The Edge and others to help New Orleans musicians whose instruments were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.
"He's so passionate about the charity Music Rising that he wanted to give something away that was really meaningful to him," said Martin Nolan from the Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions which is handling the sale.
The auction represents one of the biggest sales of U2 memorabilia from a band which has gone as far as to take a court case against a former employee, Lola Cashman, who tried to sell items belonging to them without their permission.
Another Edge guitar, a Gibson, which featured on the video to the song Desire and was regularly played during the Joshua Tree and Vertigo tours, a bass owned by Adam Clayton, a signed Gretsch guitar played by Bono, a jacket worn by the singer on the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine and a pair of his rose-tinted iconic sunglasses are all on display in the Clarence and will go under the hammer in New York on April 21st.
Mr Nolan said: "Because U2 have not done something like this before, it is an opportunity to give people here in Ireland an opportunity to come and see these really iconic pieces.
"Celebrities don't part with their memorabilia easily. They are all very covetous of it and, certainly, if anybody took anything from them it would be quite upsetting for them."
Other memorabilia on display in the Clarence until Friday include a pair of John Lennon sunglasses, a pair of pink trousers worn on stage by Jimi Hendrix, a scarf signed by Elvis Presley, a cheque written by Madonna and a receipt for Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.
A selection of items in the auction will go on display in the next fortnight at the Hard Rock cafes in London and New York.
"We have registered bidders from Japan, India, all over Europe and the United States," said Julien's Auctions' chief executive officer Darren Julien. "It's really great to have a band like U2 on board. They have never sold as many items in one sale and it's all benefiting a great cause".
The Edge is hoping to raise up to €600,000 which will be used to buy instruments for schools in New Orleans.
