One of the few remaining Apple-1 computers, the company’s initial product, will be auctioned off this week, with a price tag of up to $600,000.
The 45-year-old computer is one of just 200 that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs tested and designed in their Los Altos home with Patty Jobs and Daniel Kottke. For antique tech enthusiasts, it is the “holy grail.”
Moran, John On Tuesday, the computer will be auctioned off, with bids beginning at $200,000. It is expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000, according to the auction house in southern California. According to the Los Angeles Times, analysts believe the Apple-1 will sell for roughly $500,000. A New York auction house sold an Apple-1 for $905,000 in 2014.
The model was one of 50 sold to the Mountain View, California-based ByteShop. When the shop’s owner, Paul Terrell, initially got the computers, he was disappointed since he anticipated the devices to be ready to plug in and use by the buyer. According to John Moran, Jobs was able to persuade him that by selling the computer together with keyboards, monitors, and power supplies from the shop, he could make a profit.
The computer was originally acquired by a Chafee College electronics professor, but he sold it to a student in 1977 in order to upgrade to an Apple II. Since then, the student has clung to it.
According to the auction company, the model went through a “extensive authenticity, repair, and appraisal procedure.” According to the New York Times, it is one of just around 60 Apple-1 machines remaining in existence, and one of about 20 that are still operational.
The model is one of six made of Koa wood, which has grown increasingly uncommon and costly in recent years. It includes a Panasonic video monitor, a copy of the Apple-1 basic handbook and operations guide, an original programming manual, two Apple-1 software cassette tapes, and three original video, power, and cassette interface cables, as well as a copy of the Apple-1 basic manual and operations guide.
According to a spokeswoman for John Moran, the auction has already received phoned-in bids, and the sale was highlighted in Times Square.
