A man describing himself as an “82-year-old antique” is putting a relatively young 32-year-old Apple I for sale on eBay in the next few weeks.
One of 200 computers hand made by Steve Wozniak, somewhere between 30 and 50 are thought to be still around. (If you’re more interested in seeing one than buying one, the Smithsonian has an Apple I on display as it’s being presented to the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto).
Back in July 1976, the Apple I sold for $666.66. The computers, sold in a kit, came with 4KB standard memory, that you could bump up to 8KB or 48KB with expansion cards. You had to add your own case, keyboard and display.
Guesstimates say the computer could fetch between $14,000 and $16,000.
The seller wrote in to San Francisco Chronicle tech columnist David Einstein about how he might get publicity for the sale.
Einstein replied, “I don’t think your computer is valuable enough to spark much general media interest before you sell it.”
Alas, he underestimated the Cult of Mac. Mr. Antique, we want to hear from you!
