Upcoming Apple I Computer Auction Will Open at $116,000
History tells us that when the next Apple I (or Apple-1, if you prefer) goes up for sale this weekend at an auction house in Germany, it will fetch an obscene amount of money for what amounts to an obsolete system. It's not that anyone is buying these things to run legacy software, mind you, they're doing it to own a piece of history, and they're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
This is the same auction house that sold a working Apple I computer on November 24, 2012 for a record $640,000. Prior to that, the record sat at $374,500 for a system that was auctioned off by Sotheby's in New York. Pretty crazy for a computer that originally sold for $666.66 back in 1976 when it debuted (or $2,700 in today's currency after accounting for inflation).
Image Source: Breker.com
Auctioneer Uwe Breker tells The New York Times that the reserve price for this weekend's Apple I is $116,000. He conservatively expects it to sell for anywhere from $260,000 on up to $400,000, though there's always a chance it could set another record, especially since this is working rig.
One reason why these systems command such a premium among collectors is that they're incredibly scarce. It's believed that no more than 200 Apple I computers were ever made, of which less than 50 may remain.
This is the same auction house that sold a working Apple I computer on November 24, 2012 for a record $640,000. Prior to that, the record sat at $374,500 for a system that was auctioned off by Sotheby's in New York. Pretty crazy for a computer that originally sold for $666.66 back in 1976 when it debuted (or $2,700 in today's currency after accounting for inflation).
Image Source: Breker.com
Auctioneer Uwe Breker tells The New York Times that the reserve price for this weekend's Apple I is $116,000. He conservatively expects it to sell for anywhere from $260,000 on up to $400,000, though there's always a chance it could set another record, especially since this is working rig.
One reason why these systems command such a premium among collectors is that they're incredibly scarce. It's believed that no more than 200 Apple I computers were ever made, of which less than 50 may remain.
