Rare Apple-1 Computer Auctioned Off For $671,400 - 520,000 Euro
The auction price for one of the original (and still working) Apple-1 computers started at $116,000 and was expected to fetch somewhere between $260,000 and $400,000 when Christie’s put it on the block in Germany. Instead, it set a record: $671,400, or about $520,000 euros.
The previous record, according to the New York Times, was set at an auction of another working Apple-1 last year at $640,00. (We’ll resist the urge to make an “Apple tax” joke here.)
Originally, the Apple-1 sold for $666.66 back in 1976 (or roughly $2,700 when adjusted for modern-day inflation). It’s possible that there were only 200 Apple-1’s ever made, and reportedly only 50 or so still exist, which makes them rather rare. The fact that the last two still work is incredible.
The value also comes a bit from the mystique around Apple and its founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Their company and technology went from garage-built prototypes to one of the biggest and most storied tech companies in the world.
The previous record, according to the New York Times, was set at an auction of another working Apple-1 last year at $640,00. (We’ll resist the urge to make an “Apple tax” joke here.)
Originally, the Apple-1 sold for $666.66 back in 1976 (or roughly $2,700 when adjusted for modern-day inflation). It’s possible that there were only 200 Apple-1’s ever made, and reportedly only 50 or so still exist, which makes them rather rare. The fact that the last two still work is incredible.
The value also comes a bit from the mystique around Apple and its founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Their company and technology went from garage-built prototypes to one of the biggest and most storied tech companies in the world.
