Apple I Computer sells for $213,600 at auction

“Earlier this month I wrote about an Apple-1 computer that was set to be auctioned for $150,000 by Christie’s, the tony auctioneer,” Nick Bilton reports for The New York Times. “The bidding is now closed, and the computer that debuted in 1976, for $666.66, built by Steven P. Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founders, sold for $213,600.”

“The lot, which included the Apple-1 computer, an Apple cassette interface card, a typed letter signed by ‘Steven Jobs’ and a plethora of other archaic goodies, went on sale Tuesday,” Bilton reports. “Who was the high bidder? According to Affaritaliani.it, an online Italian newspaper, it was Marco Boglione, an Italian businessman who likes to collect tech-related paraphernalia.”

Bilton reports, “There were less than 200 of the machines built and sold before Apple moved on to create the Apple-II. The Apple-1 is also considered to be one of the first genre of computers that led to the genesis of the home-computing revolution.”

Full article here.

14 Comments

  1. Pretty good valuation over time – comparable with Apple as a company too:
    If you took $666.66 in 1976, tracked the dow from its low in 1978 to its september 1985 value and then switched out into AAPL at its low of $1.8125, ride that to AAPL’s all time high of $321.30, you’d have around $208,000. If your dollars went up on track with inflation from ’77-’78 (around 6.7%) you’d have $222,000, and if they tracked inflation from ’77-’85 you’d have around $213,900.
    MW: find, as in you can ‘find’ anything you like to be true with the right sort of maths . . .

  2. That does it…I’m holding on to my i5 iMac for 34 more years.

    Further, I’m posting an advance notice on Craigs List about my once in a lifetime auction in 2044. Who could possibly resist buying at a premium this soon to be relic of an ancient computer time where people used track pads and 2D glossy screen monitors. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

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