Original Apple I Goes Up for Auction in October, Expected to Fetch $127,000
Back in October 1976, an introductory ad invited computer users to "Byte into an Apple" for a devilish $666 (and 66 cents). Taking into account inflation, such a system would cost a little over $2,500 today. Throw nostalgia into the mix, however, and the price balloons, as an original Apple I system is expected to rake in as much as $127,000 when it goes up for auction in a couple of months.
Auction house Christie's is handling the the sale, and according to the description, this particular unit is a "rare original" that once belonged to Joe Copson, a former Apple employee. The serial number on the bottom reads "22."
"Realized in 1976 by the Apple Computer Company, the Apple I machine was designed and each model hand-built by Steve Wozniak," Christie's explains. "His friend Steve Jobs suggested a number of improvements, and handled its sale and marketing. The pair famously invested all they could to finance the first Apple creation, with Jobs selling his only mode of transportation, his VW and Wozniak his HP-65 calculator to generate enough funds for the project."
Similar items have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past, so this one will probably pull in the expected amount (a lower estimate has the system selling for $79,000 in auction).
If you had $127,000 to spend on tech nostalgia, what would you buy?
Auction house Christie's is handling the the sale, and according to the description, this particular unit is a "rare original" that once belonged to Joe Copson, a former Apple employee. The serial number on the bottom reads "22."
"Realized in 1976 by the Apple Computer Company, the Apple I machine was designed and each model hand-built by Steve Wozniak," Christie's explains. "His friend Steve Jobs suggested a number of improvements, and handled its sale and marketing. The pair famously invested all they could to finance the first Apple creation, with Jobs selling his only mode of transportation, his VW and Wozniak his HP-65 calculator to generate enough funds for the project."
Similar items have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past, so this one will probably pull in the expected amount (a lower estimate has the system selling for $79,000 in auction).
If you had $127,000 to spend on tech nostalgia, what would you buy?
