Apple 1 computer sells for record $668,000 at auction
MUNICH – Customers queue to enter the Apple Store where a giant logo is displayed in the southern German city of Munich on September 21, 2012 as the iPhone 5 goes on sale.
One of only six surviving still-functioning Apple 1 computers sold at auction on Saturday for a record $668,000 (516,000 euros).
German auction house Breker said an Asian client, who asked to remain anonymous, bought the first-model Apple computer that company founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built in a family garage in 1976. The machine sold Saturday is said to bear Wozniak's signature and included an old business transaction letter from Jobs.
Pre-auction estimates predicted the Apple 1 would sell for somewhere between $259,000 and $388,000 (200,000 and 300,000 euros).
The auction house sold another Apple 1 last year for $636,000 (492,000 euros).
"It's really the holy grail of collectable technology," said Bob Luther, author of The First Apple.
More from GlobalPost: 1976 Apple 1 computer motherboard auctioned for $374,500 at Sotheby's
Only 200 of the first version of an Apple computer are thought to have been produced, with 46 believed to still be in existence. Six of those are still in working order.
When first sold in 1976, the Apple 1 consisted of only the circuit board. A case, keyboard and screen had to be bought separately. The computer was originally priced at $666.66.
But the first batch of 50 Apple 1 computers was priced at just $500 when they were sold at the Byte Shop. The $666.66 represents a third mark-up on the price, and Wozniak was said to be fond of repeating digits.