Rare Fully Functional Apple-1 Computer Fetches Over $450,000 at Auction

A rare fully functional Apple-1 computer has sold for $458,711 at auction this week, according to Boston-based RR Auction.

RR Auction says the computer was acquired by Michigan computer store SoftWarehouse in the 1980s as part of a trade for a newer IBM machine. It was subsequently displayed in the store in a custom-made museum style case, before being placed into storage. The computer was restored to its original, operational state in June 2019 by "Apple-1 expert" Corey Cohen, who evaluated the current condition of the unit as 8/10.

apple 1 auction 2020
"The Apple-1 is not only a marvel of early computing ingenuity but the product that launched what is today one of the most valuable and successful companies in the world," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction, adding that early Apple products continue to attract interest from passionate fans of the company worldwide.

The computer was sold with all components and accessories required for operation and proved to be fully functional for around eight hours in a comprehensive test.

apple 1 auction 2020 2
It is believed that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak built 200 of the Apple-1 computers and sold 175 of them, making it a rare collector's item. The computer was originally conceived as a bare circuit board to be sold as a kit and completed by electronics hobbyists, but Steve Jobs later sold 50 fully assembled units of the computer to The Byte Shop in California.

Another fully functional Apple-1 computer sold for $905,000 back in 2014.

Tag: Apple-1

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
airtag purple

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development. Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag. Timing Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Magic Mouse Next to Keyboard

No, Apple CEO Tim Cook Didn't Say He Prefers Logitech's MX Master 3 Over the Magic Mouse

Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false. The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
at t turbo indicator iphone 16 pro max v0 8hrh7w5f3w1e1

AT&T Turbo Indicator Showing Up in iPhone Status Bar for Subscribers

Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence. Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476 The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick. "We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote. If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
bug security vulnerability issue fix larry

Make Sure to Update: iOS 18.1.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 Fix Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities

Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices. With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...

Top Rated Comments

jlocker Avatar
61 months ago
I remember this machine quite well, I know the owners of the software house. And I was the first local computer store. I was the first Apple level II repair technician in the town, was trained in Chicago for repair of the II, III Lisa and printers in 1982 :)

Ahh the memories, I think i threw out two apple I logic boards that I could not get to work and sold them a Apple IIe replacement.

I am still a IT person working in my home town where I fixed all those computers over the years. Just today I put in more memory in a Apple iMac system. Wow were did those 40 some years go :)

Here i am in 1982 just about the time Software house opened for business.



Attachment Image
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juicy Box Avatar
61 months ago
This is pretty cool.

I have a collection of older Macs, but I doubt I will ever have one of these.


RR Auction says the computer was acquired by Michigan computer store SoftWarehouse in the 1980s as part of a trade for a newer IBM machine. It was subsequently displayed in the store in a custom-made museum style case, before being placed into storage. The computer was restored to its original, operational state in June 2019 by "Apple-1 expert" Corey Cohen, who evaluated the current condition of the unit as 8/10.
I wonder if one day, maybe 40 years from now, there will be auctions for MBPs with fully-functional butterfly keyboard.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rpmurray Avatar
61 months ago

Very nice find, but that would buy a lot of Coronavirus test kits.
I see you still have the computer you wrote this comment with. Why don't you sell it to buy some Coronavirus test kits.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
61 months ago

No expansion slots, soldered on RAM. Hold on though... no dongles.

Suddenly interested in knowing more about how this operated...
It'll make you wish for dongles - hooking up anything external involves soldering and other hardware hackery and writing your own driver software. The follow-on Apple ][ at least had slots (beyond the cassette I/O and NTSC video out) - but you needed a circuit board (read 3" by 6" dongle covered in exposed electronic parts) to connect to anything.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
project_2501 Avatar
61 months ago
that keyboard is better than the butterfly keyboard
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D.T. Avatar
61 months ago

(1) can it play Doom?
Yes! Well, it plays the precursor to Doom called Asterisk Demons


>*<

_^_


Above you can see the player has the BFG, and is ready to shoot a cacodemon - exciting!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)