An Apple-1 computer and a 1986 Panasonic video monitor sold for $400,000 on Tuesday.
John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
The first Apple-1 computers were sold for $666.66 in 1976. Forty-five years later, a still-functioning one has sold for $400,000.
John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia, Calif., auctioned it off on Tuesday, one of 200 Apple-1 computers that were designed, built and tested by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, with help from Patty Jobs and Daniel Kottke.
"What we have with the Apple-1 is sort of like the holy grail of vintage computer collecting," says Corey Cohen, an Apple and technology historian.
The student, who remains unidentified, has kept the computer until now.
Apple-1s came as motherboards, with cases, keyboards and monitors sold separately. The unit features a case put on by The Byte Shop in Mountain View, Calif., which was the first store to sell Apple products.
An auction house has sold an Apple-1 computer for $400,000. The model marked the start of the personal computer industry. Keith Berson/John Moran Auctioneers, Inc. hide caption
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Keith Berson/John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
An auction house has sold an Apple-1 computer for $400,000. The model marked the start of the personal computer industry.
Keith Berson/John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
The case is made of koa wood, one of only six known koa wood cases in existence, according to the auction house. Koa wood, native to Hawaii, was abundant in the 1970s, but has become rarer and more expensive due to cattle grazing and logging.
Apple-1 was the start of the personal computer industry
The Apple-1 was the first Apple product to be sold. It marked the start of the personal computer industry.
It was the first personal computer that came with a warranty. "It was guaranteed to work," Cohen says. "Prior to that, there were other computers. They were kits. They mostly didn't work when you got them."
They were originally sold for $666.66. "While that sounds pretty ominous, 666, it's because Steve Wozniak likes repeating numbers," Cohen tells Morning Edition. "Even his own phone number at the time had a repeating number."
He said this specific machine not only represents the start of Apple, but the ingenuity of Wozniak and Jobs and their vision "where a computer isn't something to be afraid of, a computer is something that can be part of your life and can help improve your life."
"It took a long time, I think, for people to catch on to that idea," he says. "But it is something that, you know, it helps people kind of feel closer to that progress."
Tien Le is an intern on NPR's News Desk. Barry Gordemer and Jessica Green produced the audio version of this story.
An original Apple computer built by firm co-founders Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary Wozniak (/ˈwɒzniæk/; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his early business partner Steve Jobs.
and Steve Jobs in 1976 has fetched $400,000 (£294,990) at auction in the US. The rare Hawaiian koa wood-cased Apple-1 - still functioning - is one of only 200 made and sold in kit form.
The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 at a price of US$666.66. Wozniak later said he had no idea about the relation between the number and the number of the beast, and that he came up with the price because he liked "repeating digits" and because it was a one-third markup on the $500 wholesale price.
The Apple 1 was never cheap, it originally went on sale in 1976 for $666.66. That would be about $3,200 today. That being said, prices for them now can get absolutely insane. In 2014, one of the very earliest Apple 1 units was sold by auction house Bonhams for a whopping $905,000.
In 2020, an Apple-1 model dated back to the 1980s sold for approximately $460,000 after being appraised for at least $500,000 on an episode of Pawn Stars.
These unique sketches, never sold as reproductions, were estimated by an art expert to be worth $310,000. After negotiation, Rick secured the purchase for $250,000, making it the most expensive item ever bought on Pawn Stars.
With a $16 Million net worth, Rick Harrison is the richest member of Pawn Stars. Does Rick still own Pawn Stars? Yes. Rick owns television and royalty rights to the Pawn Stars.
One of the most valuable items at the Pawn Stars shop is a 2001 Super Bowl ring, which is valued at $60,000 [asking price: $100,000]. The most expensive items ever sold at the Pawn Shop were four one-kilo gold bars valued at $128,000.”
A first batch Apple-1 went up for auction in May and sold for more than $460,000, and back in November 2021, an Apple-1 in a koa wood case sold for $500,000. Other Apple-1 computers have sold for upwards of $815,000, with rarer machines fetching more money.
Just 200 Apple-1 computers were produced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak back in 1976, and it is believed that only 60 to 70 remain, making the machines the ultimate collector's item for Apple fans.
With the incorporation of the microprocessor and dynamic RAM, the Apple I proved how small, simple, and cheap a usable computer could be. The computer sold as a single board for $666.66 since Wozniak liked repeating digits.
Work on the ENIAC began at the University of Pennsylvania on June 5, 1943. The computer was completed in 1945 and unveiled on February 14, 1946. Although originally estimated to cost $150,000, it ultimately cost $400,000 to complete.
It was a commercial success and went on to sell between five and six million units by the time it was discontinued in 1993. While an Apple II is worth dramatically less than its predecessor, some have sold for a few thousand dollars. In 2015, an Apple II in “fine condition” fetched $4,687 at a Nate D.
The Guinness Book of World Records says the C64 is the best selling single computer model of all time with sales of about 30 million units between 1982 and 1993. Commodore blew it, though, and bigger companies like IBM got into the act. Dell, Apple and other PC manufacturers have since dominated the market.
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