Antique Computer Used to Establish Apple’s Success to be Auctioned Off

An auction is currently underway for a classic Apple computer that has been autographed by Steve Wozniak, one of the co-founders of the company.

Apple-1 launched the company, which in June became the first publicly traded company to end a trading day with a market capitalization of $3 trillion, according to Boston’s RR Auction. According to the agency, the computer has been restored to full working order and comes with a custom case with a built-in keyboard.

The computer, which originally sold for about $666, is expected to sell for about $200,000 at the auction, which runs through August 24. The Apple-1 prototype sold for nearly $700,000 last year.

About 200 were built in Steve Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, Calif., in 1976 and 1977, and about 175 were sold, said RR executive vice president Bobby Livingston.

“It’s the legendary computer that launched Apple,” he said.

Jobs contacted Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, and he agreed to buy 50 Apple-1 computers, but only if they were fully assembled, according to RR Auction. The Apple-1 thus became one of the first personal computers that did not require the buyer to solder, RR said, although it did not come with a power supply, case, keyboard or display.

This was followed by the introduction of the Apple-2 in 1977, which revolutionized the personal computer industry.

Wozniak autographed the auctioned Apple-1 at an event held at “Woz” Bryant University in 2017. The signature “increases desirability,” Livingston said.

It was purchased by the owner for use in a 1980 computer hobbyist show in Framingham, Massachusetts, and was used throughout the 1980s. Apple expert Corey Cohen brought it into operation earlier this year, the auction house said.

The auction also includes Apple Company Check No. 2, signed by Jobs and Wozniak and dated March 19, 1976.

The check for $116.97 was made out to Ramlor, Inc., a circuit board manufacturer, and experts believe it was likely related to the production of the first Apple-1 computers, RR Auction said. That too was expected to sell for $50,000, but early bidding has already surpassed that.