Apple I computer sells for $174K at London auction

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
A rare example of Apple's first computer, the Apple I, in "superb" condition sold for $174,000 at an auction in London on Tuesday.



Italian businessman and private collector Marco Boglione made the winning bid, which came to about $210,000 after tax, by phone Tuesday at Christie's auction house in London, the Associated Press reports. Prior to the auction, Christie's estimated the computer would sell for between $160,000-240,000. When it was released in 1976, the Apple I sold for $666.66.



The Apple I computer, of which only 200 were made, has become a rare collector's item, as only 30 to 50 units are believed to still exist. The auctioned unit was listed as a "superb example" and came in its original box with a signed letter from Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.



Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, who hand-built each of the Apple I personal computers, attended the auction, offering to add an autographed letter to the lot. Wozniak told reporters the auction was a historic moment for his work.



According to the AP, the auction included other pieces of technological history, such as an Enigma code-making machine and writings of Alan Turing, who is considered "one of the founders of modern computing."



"Today my heart went out as I got to see things auctioned off like the Turing documents and the Enigma machine ? and the Apple I," said Wozniak after the auction. "It really was an important step, (even though) I didn't feel that way when I designed it."



Source: Christie's
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    If only didn’t change anything they would never have had the fragmentation that others say plague Apple’s products¡ Why did they choose to innovate; when will they learn?¡
  • Reply 2 of 39
    cmvsmcmvsm Posts: 204member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    If only didn?t change anything they would never have had the fragmentation that others say plague Apple?s products¡ Why did they choose to innovate; when will they learn?¡



    They have learned, and excelled faster than any other computer company in history. The performance and reliability relies heavily on the proprietary format. This is what makes them great, and will continue to grow the company. Even larger companies are forced to curb to what Apple innovates, not the other way around. New ideas is what drives demand and branding. What exactly are you referring to??



    Your opinion was valid about 6 years ago, but those days have long past, as market share continues to sway towards Apple, and their stock continues to skyrocket. My portfolio is certainly happy!
  • Reply 3 of 39
    $666.66 was way too expensive. No wonder they only built 200 of 'em.



    Didn't run PC software either.



    Apple FAIL!



  • Reply 4 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cmvsm View Post


    What exactly are you referring to??



    That was sarcasm (as was my post).
  • Reply 5 of 39
    I bet that beast had a whopping 2 kilobytes of memory
  • Reply 6 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevetim View Post


    I bet that beast had a whopping 2 kilobytes of memory



    Yeah, but can it play Crysis?¡
  • Reply 7 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stevetim View Post


    I bet that beast had a whopping 2 kilobytes of memory



    Heck no. 4k. Ought to be enough for anyone.
  • Reply 8 of 39
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by john galt View Post


    $666.66 was way too expensive. No wonder they only built 200 of 'em.



    Didn't run PC software either.



    There wasn't any PC software at the time.



    Wouldn't you be better off learning something about a subject before you post?
  • Reply 9 of 39
    There are rumors circulating about the Apple 2. It's going to be dramatically different, so I wouldn't purchase that Apple 1 just yet.



    Let's just say that I've heard from garages around town that it's going to be encased in a wooden box, with the cassette drive built in.
  • Reply 10 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Yeah, but can it play Crysis?¡



    Or run OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard?
  • Reply 11 of 39
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by womble2k2 View Post


    Or run OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard?



    No? but only because Apple has artificially prevented newer versions of Mac OS X from running it so they can force you to buy new HW¡
  • Reply 12 of 39
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A rare example of Apple's first computer, the Apple I, in "superb" condition sold for $174,000 at an auction in London on Tuesday.



    Ha! The Apple tax in action. You can get a better specced Dell for $173,849.
  • Reply 13 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A rare example of Apple's first computer, the Apple I, in "superb" condition sold for $174,000 at an auction in London on Tuesday.]



    Was Boglione under buying instructions from Steve Ballmer who is still searching for the secret of Apple's recent successes with the Mac, the iPhone and the iPad?
  • Reply 14 of 39
    I actually touched one of those -- ca. 1978 I was looking to try an Apple ][ and stopped in the Byte Shop of Palo Alto (Run by Bob Moody). Moody had a real pleasant [ass-hole] personality. Said he didn't carry that {Apple ][} pice of shit -- then took me in the back room and showed me an Apple 1. There was a motherboard and keyboard mounted on a slab of plywood -- total turnoff.



    @john galt 4K RAM was plenty -- many of the mainframes of that day had 64K.



    @sol I don't think it could play any games -- Breakout came later with the Apple ][.



    Somewhere, in storage, I have an Apple 1 Manual (Isaac Newton on the cover) -- given to me by Woz's younger brother, Mark. I wonder if it is worth anything?
  • Reply 15 of 39
    crankycranky Posts: 163member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    There wasn't any PC software at the time.



    Wouldn't you be better off learning something about a subject before you post?



    Seems to me that you should chill a little and try to learn when people are trying to have a little fun. Quite a few of the comments in this thread have either been tongue-in-cheek or harmless sarcasm. I for one, applaud their sense of humor. Not everything has to be so serious.
  • Reply 16 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Yeah, but can it play Crysis?¡



    Ha ha ... Maybe if you did the hack that got it to 8k.
  • Reply 17 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mugwump View Post


    There are rumors circulating about the Apple 2. It's going to be dramatically different, so I wouldn't purchase that Apple 1 just yet.



    Let's just say that I've heard from garages around town that it's going to be encased in a wooden box, with the cassette drive built in.



    I heard it was going to have a webcam.

    I am not sure what this "web" they are referring to is.

    I also overheard some guys in a garage talking about building a system of tubes.
  • Reply 18 of 39
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    I heard it was going to have a webcam.

    I am not sure what this "web" they are referring to is.

    I also overheard some guys in a garage talking about building a system of tubes.



    Sounds like witchcraft - BURN THEM!
  • Reply 19 of 39
    I just bought a MBP where's MY signed letter?
  • Reply 20 of 39
    Pahhh! Computers schmooters, they'll never catch on.
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