The "Double Fantasy" album John Lennon signed for Mark David Chapman hours before Chapman assassinated him is hitting the auction block ... and is expected to haul in up to 2 million bucks.
The macabre piece of rock 'n' roll history features Lennon's signature in blue ink on the album cover art ... a photo of Lennon and Yoko Ono. He signed his name on Yoko's neck along with his "1980" inscription.
"Double Fantasy" was the fifth album released by John and Yoko, and was released the month before he was shot and killed on December 8, 1980, as he was walking into his home at The Dakota in NYC.
Chapman had waited outside the building with a copy of the album to score Lennon's autograph around 5:50 PM as he and Yoko were on their way to a studio. Chapman was still waiting at 10:50 PM when the couple returned ... and shot Lennon four times in the back.
As you can see ... there are other markings on the front and back of the album. Those were made by law enforcement, as it was a key piece of police evidence from the scene of the crime. Chapman had put the album in one of the planters outside The Dakota after Lennon signed it.
When cops arrived, Chapman was found casually reading a copy of "The Catcher in the Rye," and told police he killed Lennon because he was so famous. The murderer was recently denied parole for the 11th time.
This "Double Fantasy" album has already been sold twice in the past -- for $150k in 1999, and between $600-800k in 2010. It will go live for auction on Monday at Goldin Auctions ... which expects it to haul in as much as $2 MILLION.