The last time I auditioned for an 'originals' band, I was sent mp3s of the songs along with chord sheets.
The time before that there was nothing and no clues beyond 'it goes like this'.
You won't get private market value selling equipment to a music shop and neither should you. They have costs (inc VAT).
If the bass (or whatever) is worth so much more, in your opinion, then sell it privately.
I'd reckon most people wouldn't know Macca was a bassist. They'd call him a singer/musician/Beatle/composer/Liverpudlian before they'd say bass player.
The Rickenbacker is not iconic of the whole Beatles thing in the way that the Hofner is.
The violin bass image stands for The Beatles as a whole
At auction I suspect McCartney's Hofner would attract the highest bids.
Estimates vary from £3,000,000 to £6,000,000.
After all, Ringo's Ludwig drum kit fetched £2,000,000.
I had a Hofner 185 Artist, for which I paid £30 in 1973, and played it until I got a Hayman 4040 in 1974 and a Fender P in 1975.
I gave it to a friend.
Looking back, it was a much better bass than I realised at the time.
I wish I still had it.
I had an Epiphone Embassy in ivory finish, which I liked a lot but I had to give up long scales due to health issue.
..... but I can't find a picture of it.
In Birmingham, as a teenager in the late sixties, I too recollect it as 'heavy rock' which in effect meant 'serious rock' as opposed to 'popular rock'. 'Heavy' as opposed to 'light' in seriousness.
And 'heavy' was not limited to rock. You could be a singer-songwriter and be 'heavy', if you were serious enough e.g. Dylan.
So to call something 'heavy' was to call it serious, with the implication that it was 'better'. There was no mention of metal.
There was a Birmingham record shop called Heavyhead; a 'head' being someone who was into 'heavy' i.e. serious music. Owned if I recall correctly by Bev Bevan.
'Man, that's really serious man'.
Your mileage may vary.