In a recent auction, a rare Apple-1 computer that was gifted by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak to the company’s first applications engineer has been sold for $315,914 (approximately Rs 2.6 crore).
The computer, known as the Apple I or Apple Computer 1, was restored to full functionality and comes with all the components and accessories required for operation. The board comes from the collection of Dana Redington, an early Apple employee who has owned it since early 1978, according to RR Auction, the company that conducted the auction.
The item was restored and brought to an operational state in June 2024 by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen, according to the auctioneer. This board was “undiscovered” by the Apple collecting community before the auction and had never been put up for sale.
The Apple-1 computer played a significant role in Apple’s history, as Jobs reportedly sold 50 of these computers to Paul Terrell, the owner of the Byte Shop. The money from this sale was then reinvested into the company, which helped launch Apple’s manufacturing ambitions.
During his pitch to Terrell, Jobs included polaroids of the Apple-1 prototype in his presentation. These photos were also auctioned off. The prototype itself was sold to the highest bidder for $677,000 two years ago.
RR Auction also auctioned off other rare Apple items, including the Apple Lisa-1 computer with original ‘Twiggy’ drives ($81,251), Polaroid photographs of the Apple-1 prototype ($54,904), a first-generation Apple iPhone ($25,460), a first-generation Apple iPad prototype ($24,996), and checks signed by Steve Jobs ($66,844).
The auction achieved a total of $983,096, according to the auctioneer.