Jun 17, 2012

Apple 1 Smashes Auction Estimate

A rare functioning Apple 1 computer - the company's first product - has been sold at an auction for $374,500 (£240,929).

The price was more than double Sotheby's high estimate and sets a new record for the collector's item.

A memo written by the firm's co-founder Steve Jobs when he worked at Atari sold for $27,500 at the same New York event.

The original estimate for the four-page handwritten note was up to $15,000.

Only about 200 Apple 1s were ever created. The computers were hand-built by Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak and originally sold for $666.66 (£426) as a fully assembled circuit board.

He later said he picked a sum with a repeating number "because it was just an easier way to type".

Only about 50 Apple 1s are still believed to be in existence. The auctioned model is one of the very few that still works.

Sotheby's said there was a battle between two parties for the item which also included the original manuals. A set of bids was executed by the auctioneer on behalf of an absentee collector, but a telephone bidder proved more persistent and eventually clinched the sale.

Their identity has not been revealed.

Source: BBC News  

1 comments:

Nice informative stuff as always!Thanks for keeping us update.Keep it up..

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