Apple 1 - page 2

Working Apple-1 sells to mystery buyer for $375,000

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RR Auction 1
The computer sold to a mystery buyer online.
Photo: RR Auction

A rare working Apple-1 computer, one of just 200 built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, has sold at auction for $375,000.

The computer is thought to be just one of only around 15 Apple-1 models still in working order. The auction took place in Boston, MA, on Tuesday. The buyer was an “anonymous businessman,” who placed his bid online.

Steve Jobs’ ‘Blue Box’ will go on display in Michigan

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Building and selling Blue Boxes was one of the first collaborations between Steve Jobs and Wozniak.
Photo: Bonham's

If you want to check out Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s first ever product, book your travel to Michigan now!

That’s because The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn has acquired a rare 1972 Blue Box in an auction in New York City, and will be displaying it soon. The illicit device, which pre-dates the Apple-1 by four years, allowed users to make free long-distance phone calls by reproducing specific dial tones.

$800,000 might snag you Apple’s first computer

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Apple 1 computer
The Apple-1 was Apple's debut computer.
Photo: CharityBuzz

Ever wanted to get hold of Apple’s rarest computer, and have enough cash to purchase a good-sized family home in many parts of the U.S. to buy it with? Then you may be interested in CharityBuzz’s new auction for one of the very first Apple-1 computers ever built.

Originally owned by a friend and associate of Steve Wozniak, Adam Schoolsky, the Apple-1 in question is one of less than 60 believed to still in existence.

Modified Apple-1 will go up for auction later this month

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Have a spare $500k sitting around? This could be yours.
Photo: Christie's

A working Apple-1 computer will go under the hammer at a Christie’s auction later this month, with an estimated value of between $300,000 and $500,000.

Not only is the Apple-1 motherboard one of relatively few working units still in existence in 2017, but it also includes some unusual modifications by its original owner — with the original 4K of RAM boosted up to a whopping total of 12K.

Working Apple-1 disappoints at auction

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The Apple-1 went for a bargain $112,000.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

A rare functioning Apple-1 computer has sold for $112,000 at auction in Berlin — considerably less than the predicted $200,000-$334,000 auctioneers expected it to fetch.

Given that, in 2014, another Apple-1 computer sold at auction for an incredible $905,000, it’s proof positive that the spike in Apple-1 prices which followed Steve Jobs’ death is most likely over.

Steve Jobs’ original Apple-1 is going on display

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New exhibition will show off the most important computer in Apple history.
Photo: Living Computers

An ultra-rare Apple-1 prototype used by Steve Jobs as a demo unit is going on display at a Seattle computer museum. It’s the crown jewel of an impressive collection of vintage Apple gear that will be housed in a new wing opening Friday at Living Computers: Museum + Labs.

Lāth Carlson, the museum’s executive director, calls the Apple prototype “the most important computer in history” — and also “the most boring to look at.”

Bids for Apple-1 computer built by Steve Jobs pass $500,000

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Could this become the most expensive Apple-1 to ever sell at auction?
Photo: Charitybuzz

Online bids for an original Apple-1 computer, reportedly built by Steve Jobs, have passed $500,000.

The so-called “Celebration” Apple-1 comes with period correct power supply, original Apple-1 ACI cassette board, Apple-1 BASIC cassettes, original marketing material, and the most complete documentation set of the known Apple-1 boards. Only around 60 Apple-1 units are thought to still exist today.

Apple I charity auction could top $1 million

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This Apple 1 board is one of a kind.
This Apple 1 board is one of a kind.
Photo: CharityBuzz

An incredibly rare and unique Apple I computer is set to hit the auction block next week, and it could break the record for the most money ever paid for one of Jobs and Woz’s first computers.

CharityBuzz revealed today that it will auction off an original Apple 1, with 10 percent of the proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Because the circuit board on the item up for auction is rare even among the 60 or so surviving Apple 1 computers left in existence, it could pull in more than $1 million.

Today in Apple history: Apple’s first ever computer goes on sale

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One of today's surviving Apple 1 computers.
Photo: Christie's

Friday 1 July 1, 1976: The Apple 1 goes on sale, becoming the first computer ever sold by the Apple Computer Company.

Arriving the same month Jimmy Carter was nominated for U.S. president, Family Feud debuted on TV, and the United States celebrated the 200th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, the Apple 1 is only produced in small numbers, and sells for the unusual price of $666.66.

Today in Apple history: Original Apple I sells for big bucks at auction

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Apple-1
A working Apple 1 will set you back a small fortune.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

Friday24On June 24, 2013, an Apple I — the first ever computer built by Apple Computer, Inc. — was listed for auction by international auction house Christie’s.

Thought to be one of the first 25 units to be built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the late 1970s, the unit featured no Apple logo, but rather a signature from Woz, who designed the machine. It sold for an impressive $390,000, ranking it among the most expensive computers ever sold.

Apple collectibles are a seller’s market

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Bids for this Apple I started at $370,000.
Bids for this Apple I started at $370,000.
Photo: Christie's

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugStarting a collection of Apple’s past is relatively easy and often affordable. But once you get started and a pricey, rare object presents itself, will you be able to control yourself?

Here’s a list that will test whether you have the fever and an intense desire to hold personal computing history in your hands. It may also test your fiscal fitness.

Detroit museum displaying an original Apple-1 this month only

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One of the rarest computers ever assembled.
Photo: Bonhams

If you’ve ever wanted to lay your eyes on an original ultra-rare Apple-1 computer — and don’t happen to have a spare six-figures of disposable income lying around — now’s your chance.

That’s because Detroit’s Henry Ford Museum is showing off one of a handful of fully-operation Apple-1 mainboards as a celebration of how far computing (and Apple) has come over the past few decades. You’ll have to be quick, though, as the breakthrough computer is only on display from now until the end of the month.

Bay Area woman accidentally junks $200,000 Apple-1 computer

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A previous Apple-1 which went up for auction.
Photo: Auction Team Breker

Have you ever thrown away something you regretted later on? If so, you have something in common with the San Francisco Bay Area woman who recently junked a vintage Apple-1 computer — one of just 200 surviving machines created by Steve Jobs and the Woz way back in 1976.

Fortunately the ultra-rare desktop was recognized by a member of the recycling firm she left it at. They sold it to a private collector for $200,000, and now want to track down the unwitting donor to give her the 50 percent they say the company owes.

Read the first ever article written about Apple

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Wozniak: Steve Jobs was driven by a desire to be important
Woz and Jobs in their early days at Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s not exactly hurting for press coverage these days. There was a time, though, when the company was desperate for any bit of publicity it could drum up. That time was February 1977, when The Apple Computer Company spoke to Kilobaud magazine for a multi-page feature article.

I don’t know whether my favorite bit of the resulting article is the crowing about 10 Apple computers selling in three weeks (the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold 10 million in their opening weekend) or Steve Jobs not yet mastering the art of selling by admitting the machine “is not for everybody,” but it makes for fun reading nonetheless.

Buy it now? Rare original Apple-1 shows up on eBay

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Yep, this could belong to you. Photo: eBay/auctioncause2

If you think an Apple Watch Edition is rare, you should try getting your hands on an Apple-1 computer.

Only 63 are known to exist, but you can nab one now — provided you cough up the necessary cash. A working Apple-1, owned by its original purchaser and his family for more than 36 years, has appeared on eBay and is currently carrying a bid of $20,600.

Working Apple-1 goes (kind of) cheap at auction

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Going, going, gone! Photo: Christie's

A working Apple-1 computer has sold at a Christie’s auction for $365,000: more than 600x the $600 that was paid for it back in July 1976, when it was bought from Steve Jobs.

While the figure is certainly sizeable, however, it’s also a bit of a disappointment when you consider that just two months ago, a similar machine fetched an eye-watering $905,000, when it was acquired by the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan, to be part of its ongoing collection. “It’s very rare to be able to collect the beginning of something, but the Apple-1 is exactly that,” Henry Ford curator Kristen Gallerneaux told Cult of Mac shortly after that auction had concluded.

Yesterday’s Christie’s auction in New York had expected the Apple-1 to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000, although there had been some speculation it could break the $1 million mark.

The Apple-1 came complete with a mounted cancelled check for his purchase, made out to Apple Computer by original owner Charles Ricketts.

Another Apple-1 expected to make big bucks at auction

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Apple-1
Photo: Auction Team Breker
Photo: Auction Team Breker

Just weeks after a rare Apple-1 computer sold for record numbers at auction, another operational unit of Apple’s first ever computer is set to go under the gavel.

Christie’s is expecting the machine to fetch more than $500,000 at auction in December, which doesn’t seem unrealistic when you consider that the previous Apple-1 mentioned fetched a whopping $905,000.

Museum pays record-breaking $905,000 for Apple-1

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A working motherboard for the Apple I, circa
A working motherboard for the Apple I, one of the rarest personal computers ever made. Photo: Bonhams

An ultra-rare working 1976 Apple-1 computer — thought to be one of the first 50 ever produced — has sold at auction for an incredible $905,000, between twice and three times the expected asking price.

The computer was part of Bonhams History of Science auction in New York City. It sold to the Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, a museum dedicated to showcasing the ingenuity and innovation that helped shape America.

The machine had been expected to fetch “just” $300,000 to $500,000.

“It’s very rare to be able to collect the beginning of something, but the Apple-1 is exactly that,” Henry Ford curator Kristen Gallerneaux told Cult of Mac, speaking after being onsite at the auction earlier today.

MMXIII – The Year in Vintage Apple Tech

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Vintage-Montage

In addition to all the new products of 2013, the past year was a whir of activity in the vintage Apple space. Apple may be content to only move forward and deny existence of any products older than seven years – what do you mean my first generation MacBook Pro is vintage??? – but the public has not forgotten them.

The biggest retro news of the year was probably the ascendancy of the Apple 1 on the auction block. In May, an Apple 1 fetched a record price of $671,000 at an auction in Germany – until just recently the highest price ever paid for a personal computer. Other Apple 1s sold this year in the $300,000 range, so if you are lucky enough to have one of these oldies-but-goodies in your attic, dig it out now!

Apple Collectibles, Keep This — Toss That

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-VMM Macintosh Way

Have you ever looked around your garage or spare bedroom and thought: “There’s enough Apple stuff here to start a museum?”

That’s pretty much what happened to Adam Rosen, who runs the Vintage Mac Museum, a private collection of all working machines, out of his Boston-area home. (Take a peek at his prized pieces in the gallery in this edition.)

The certified Apple consultant and Cult of Mac contributor on all things vintage gave us the skinny on what to do with your burgeoning collection: what to toss, what to hunt for on eBay and what to beg your significant other to let you keep.

Cult of Mac: Since 2009 when the Apple 1s started resurfacing the prices have gone from under $20,000 between private collectors to over $300,000 at Christie’s – any thoughts on whether this is having any effects on the general market for Apple collectibles?

Adam Rosen: Apple 1 prices have been unreal, they’ve sold as high as $670k!  This has definitely had an effect on the size of the market for Apple collectibles, expanding it significantly.  The effect on value is more variable.

For rare items and prototypes, value has definitely gone up. If you have a prototype clear case Macintosh SE, yeah, that’s gonna interest people.  But there were a lot of Apple IIs and Macs manufactured.  With so many more people aware of the prices of rare Apple systems the market gets flooded with common models. A Mac Plus today is only worth about $100, even if it’s been in the attic for 20 years.

CoM: A few years back,  you said the size of a collection depends on what the person you live with will tolerate – does that still stand? Is there stuff you’ve decided to sell or give away that you were previously holding on to?

AR: That definitely still stands.  I’ve been contacted more than once by fellow collectors whose significant other has decided that it is Time for Things to Go, and they are willing to offer me a good deal!

I’m currently single – which lessens pressure from others to shed possessions – but it’s still necessary to purge occasionally in order to reclaim living space.

CoM: You have also said that the original 128K Macintosh is always desirable, does that still stand?

 AR: That is still true, and the value has increased.  A working 128k Mac is currently worth $750-1,000, one with an original box and packaging can command double that.  Vintage Mac prices spiked after Steve Jobs passed away, they’ve come down since but the first model will always be desirable.

CoM: If taking up space with old computers is a problem – what smaller collectibles are worth having?

AR: Funny you should ask that, as my collection has expanded I’ve become more interested in smaller promotional and marketing items.  They cost less and look nice next to other equipment.  Few are investment worthy yet, but collectively they have some value.

Original Apple marketing schwag is always desirable – posters, pins, buttons.  Store display banners are prized, though these can be large. “Think Different” posters are nice but still fairly common – buy a set and hold on to those.  Items signed by Steve Jobs are highly valuable; things by Woz not as much, since he has signed so much.  Apple clothing, manuals and stationary don’t really command much value.

CoM: What’s the most prized piece in your collection and why? How has that changed over the years?

AR: This has definitely changed over the years. I have a Mac Plus where the back and one side have been replaced with plexiglass to show off an internal hard drive upgrade.  This isn’t a translucent prototype, more like a working “cutaway drawing” of the Macintosh.  It’s a very unique piece.

I recently bought a 128k Mac with original packaging, I’ve wanted one of those for some time.  It’s a must-have for any serious Mac collector.

I’m also a big fan of the Picasso-style artwork.  Last year I bought one of those lighted Macintosh logo dealer signs which Apple supplied for the Mac’s introduction.  These are gorgeous, I love turning it on and looking at the light reflect inside the engraved glass.

CoM: Any thoughts or advice on finding or buying prototypes? That last Christie’s auction also had that clear cased SE, for example…

AR: eBay is probably the most likely place to find prototypes, it’s the biggest worldwide marketplace.  Craigslist can also be a good place to find old tech, especially in the larger cities.  Of course, knowing people who once worked at Apple never hurts!

Prototypes of products nobody cared about may not be worth anything.  For example, nobody is looking for a developmental Apple III system.  But if you can find an unshipped Apple tablet prototype from the 1980s or 90s, grab it.

By the time things show up at Christie’s you know you’re not going to be getting a bargain!  I don’t know how much that clear SE actually sold for, I think the last bid I saw was $5,000.  That’s still a lot more than a standard SE, which sells in the $100 range.

 

Apple 1 Sold for $330k After Auction Close

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Working Apple 1 from the November 2013 Breker auction.

On Saturday Cult of Mac reported that a working Apple 1 failed to sell at auction in Germany, a notable result in the growing market for vintage Apple collectibles. It turns out that result was premature: the Apple 1 did sell for €246,000 ($330,000), after bidding on the item had closed.

Vintage Apple Auction News: Twiggy Mac Sells for 33K, No Sale For Apple 1 & Lisa 1

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Another Apple 1 and a Twiggy Macintosh were recently up for auction

UPDATE: Cult of Mac has learned that the Apple 1 did sell after the auction closed. Read more here.
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Markets rise and markets fall – that’s true for stocks, real estate, tulips, etc. That’s also true with vintage computers – though even in a down market there’s still some money to be made.

At an auction in Germany held on Saturday November 16, a working Apple 1 – from the first batch of 50 units made – did not receive any bids. Nor did a restored Lisa 1, with dual Twiggy floppy disk drives. But a prototype Twiggy Mac, one of only two known working units, sold for €25,000 ($33,725), quite possibly the highest price ever paid for a vintage Macintosh.

Twiggy Mac Update: World’s Oldest Working Macintosh Goes to Auction

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The Twiggy Macintosh running early MacPaint software (photo: Auction Team Breker)

Auctions for rare Apple equipment have attracted a lot of attention the past few years, with prices for the Apple 1 going as high as an astounding $671,000! Another Apple 1 is going up for auction in Germany next month on November 16, but in addition a very different rare Apple item will be on the same auction block. One of only two known working Twiggy Macs in the world is going up for sale.

Twiggy Macs were prototype versions of the original Macintosh and used a proprietary 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, instead of the 3.5-inch disk which ultimately shipped with the system in 1984. All Twiggy prototypes were ordered destroyed by Steve Jobs – and long thought lost – but the last couple of years have seen an eventful rediscovery of this piece of Macintosh history. Now one can be yours – if the price is right.