Vintage Apple-1 Computer from 1976 Achieves Record-Breaking Price at Auction
An auction recently concluded with the sale of an early Apple personal computer, which was among the first to be constructed by the company and was also autographed by Steve Wozniak, the co-founder. The winning bid for this historic piece of technology amounted to over $223,000.
The Apple-1 has been restored to full working order and came with a custom case with a built-in keyboard, according to Boston-based RR Auction, which considered the sale closed Thursday.
About 200 were made in Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, California in 1976 and 1977 and helped launch the company, which in June became the first publicly traded company to end a trading day with a market capitalization of $3 trillion. Originally sold for $666, it was expected to sell for about $200,000, RR said.
Wozniak signed the Apple-1 at an event held at Woz’s Bryant University in 2017.
It was bought used by someone who sold it in 1980 at a 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.
It was purchased by a collector who wishes to remain anonymous, RR Auction said.
An original handwritten advertisement for the Apple 1 computer written by Jobs sold at the same auction for nearly $176,000, RR said.
Apple company check #2, dated March 19, 1976, signed by Jobs and Wozniak, sold for more than $135,000.
