The Apple-1 computer is put up for auction, with bids expected to exceed $600,000
The Apple-1 computer is put up for auction, with bids expected to exceed $600,000
Apple's very first computer, which could fetch up to $600,000 at auction, is currently up for auction.
It is believed that the Apple-1, which will be auctioned on Tuesday, is one of the few surviving examples of Apple's (AAPL) first computer and will sell for a whopping $1 million.
As described in the auction listing, the lot includes an Apple-1 "NTI" motherboard and Apple Cassette Adapter, both of which are contained in a koa wood case, a Datanetics Rev D keyboard, a 1986 Panasonic video monitor, an Apple-1 connecting cable, and a power supply, among other items.
In addition, it includes a basic Apple-1 manual, Apple-1 operations manual, an original MOS 6502 programming manual, and two Apple-1 software cassette tapes, in addition to the other items listed above.
Steve Wozniak designed the computer, which was assembled and tested by Steve Jobs after it was completed.
The Apple-1 that is currently for sale has only had two previous owners in its history of ownership. As stated by the auctioneer, this particular example was purchased by an electronics professor in 1977, who in turn sold it to a student the following year.
Listed as "in excellent condition," the listing describes the Apple-1 as having recently undergone a thorough authentication, restoration, and evaluation process by one of the world's foremost experts in the field who inspected all components and generated a comprehensive condition report for the computer.
There are only six examples of the koa wood Apple-1 case still available, according to the auction house. In recent years, the wood has become more scarce and expensive due to a decrease in the number of koa trees due to cattle grazing and logging.
There were only 200 Apple-1s made in total, with only 175 of them being sold.
One hundred and fifty of the 175 computers were sold to Paul Terrell, who owns the Mountain View, California-based store ByteShop, according to the listing.
Terrell was reportedly disappointed when the computers were delivered because he had expected a self-contained computer unit that was ready to plug in rather than a kit, according to the auctioneers who handled the sale.
Nevertheless, Jobs assured him that each box contained all of the components necessary to assemble a fully functional computer and that ByteShop would profit from the sale of additional boxes of the product to customers.
In 2013, a working model of the Apple-1, which was extremely rare at the time, sold at auction for more than $671,000 in Germany.
The computer was sold with a letter from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to the computer's original owner, which was included in the sale.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are widely credited with inventing the Apple computer in Jobs' family garage, hand-building the device, and raising funds for their venture through the sale of Wozniak's fancy calculator and Jobs' Volkswagen camper van.
Apple is now one of the most valuable companies on the planet, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 trillion.
