We’ll soon find out how the ongoing fascination with Steve Jobs will combine with the new fascination for NFTs. A handwritten job application the Apple cofounder filled out in 1973 is going up for auction both as a physical document and as a Non-Fungible Token.
NFT or real document?
The form filled out by Steve Jobs sold at auction in spring 2021 for $221,747 (£162,000). Winthorpe Ventures bought it for the purpose of re-offering it as an NFT.
The newly-launched online auction at stevejobsjobapplication.com puts the ongoing sale of the physical document next to the virtual one, giving a live update on what people are willing to pay for each.
The process is just getting started — at the time of this writing, the high bid for the physical version of Steve Jobs’ job application is $2, while the NFT is going for 12 cents. But they’ll certainly go up dramatically before the auction ends
July 28.
More about the Steve Jobs job application
The future co-founder of Apple filled out the job application when he was 18 years old. It shows that the man most responsible for the iPhone didn’t have a phone at that time. And when asked about access to transportation, the future billionaire says, “possible, but not probable.”
He cites his experience with computers and calculators, and says he has special abilities in “electronic tech or design engineer – digital.” But he had no actual job experience.
Cashing in with NFTs
Winthorpe Ventures says it purchased the document specifically to sell it as a non-fungible token. “We bought the application not only because it is an incredible piece of history, but we wanted to use it as a vehicle to help understand and push the boundaries of the art/collectible and NFT world.”
An NFT is a digital representation of a product in a blockchain. But buying one doesn’t doesn’t transfer the copyright for the product, so the buyer can’t prevent anyone else from accessing it, or charge anyone for access.
That’s especially true for Steve Jobs’ teenage job application. It still exists as a physical document that will belong to whomever pays the most in the current auction. The only thing the person buying the NFT for this document gets is the NFT.
While the average Joe is likely to be befuddled by the appeal, a a non-fungible token of the first tweet ever sent recently sold at auction for $2.9 million (£2.1m).
