First Apple Computer Auctioned For $905,000
Few of Apple's first pre-assembled computers survive, but a pristine model which sat behind glass for decades fetches almost $1m.
Thursday 23 October 2014 08:56, UK
One of Apple's first pre-assembled computers - the Apple-1 - has been sold for a record $905,000 (拢564,000) at an auction in New York.
The motherboard is one of around 50 Apple-1 computers that were first manufactured by Steve Wozniak in the garage of his Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976.
Few of the devices have survived, and the latest sale has fetched the highest price yet thanks to its mint condition.
The original units retailed at $666.66 (£414) - the equivalent of around $2,786 (£1,736) in today's prices.
Last year two working Apple 1 computers with their original boxes were sold in Germany.
One sold for $330,000 (£205,000), while the other - complete with a letter from Steve Jobs - fetched $671,000 (£418,000).
Also included with the motherboard was a vintage keyboard, the original power supply and a Sanyo monitor.
The device was owned by the founder of Cincinnati AppleSiders - a Macintosh user group - and has been under glass since 1989.
It is believed there are only 15 Apple-1s still in working order.
Those which have gone under the hammer in recent years have either been damaged or modified in some way.