Apple Computer Check Signed by Steve Jobs Sells for $46,000

A check signed by former Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs sold for $46,063 at auction this week. Issued by "Apple Computer Company" in 1976, the $4.01 check was made out to electronics retailer RadioShack.

steve jobs check
Jobs filled out the check on July 23, 1976, which was the time that he and Steve Wozniak were working on the Apple-1 computer. The two produced approximately 200 Apple-1 machines, 50 of which were sold to The Byte Shop in July 1976 and retailed for $666.66.

The RadioShack check lists a Palo Alto address for an answering service and mail drop off point that Jobs used while Apple was being run out of his parents' garage.

RR Auction expected the check to sell for at least $25,000, but it sold for more. Apple and Steve Jobs memorabilia has been fetching higher and higher prices in recent years.

Another check signed by Steve Jobs was put up for auction this week by Sothebys, and it too could sell for upwards of $40,000. The check predates Apple's April 1, 1976 founding date as it was written on March 28, 1976. It is one of a handful of checks issued to Jobs and Wozniak ahead of when they received their custom-printed Apple Computer Company checkbook.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
ipad pro 2024

Gurman: New iPad Pro and MacBook Pro Models With M5 Chips to Launch Later This Year

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:06 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will "launch this year," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new iPad Pro models have progressed to an "advanced testing" stage, and he expects mass production of the devices to begin in the second half of this year. If that timeframe is met, the new iPad Pro models could launch...

Top Rated Comments

spaxxedout Avatar
17 months ago
$4.01 in 1976 is equivalent to $193,921.82 in today’s money, so not a great deal.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
japanime Avatar
17 months ago

No. Back then, when the recipient of a check deposited it, the check went through the clearing process. The bank where it was deposited processed it, then it went to a clearinghouse, then to the bank the check was issued from. The funds were transferred through this process, then the original check was returned to the entity who wrote it, in this case it would be the accounting department at Apple.

So someone at Apple got a hold of it at some point, and eventually it made its way to auction.

These days it works differently, where checks are deposited via EFT and never have to leave the hands of whoever received the payment. But back then, every check you wrote would come back to you. (or your company)
And at the end of the month, spouses would sit at the kitchen table and go through them one by one to balance the checkbook and argue about who was spending too much money ?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KENESS Avatar
17 months ago

How do you get $193,921? Inflation calculator says about $22.
He was joking.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
17 months ago

I’m curious to know what the ownership history of this check is. Obviously, once written, it was the property of Radio Shack, but did they ever cash it? Did the store owner recognize its potential value and stash it away without cashing it? An employee wouldn’t have had any legal right to it. If cashed, did someone at the bank have a right to ownership?
No. Back then, when the recipient of a check deposited it, the check went through the clearing process. The bank where it was deposited processed it, then it went to a clearinghouse, then to the bank the check was issued from. The funds were transferred through this process, then the original check was returned to the entity who wrote it, in this case it would be the accounting department at Apple.

So someone at Apple got a hold of it at some point, and eventually it made its way to auction.

These days it works differently, where checks are deposited via EFT and never have to leave the hands of whoever received the payment. But back then, every check you wrote would come back to you. (or your company)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macalway Avatar
17 months ago

Circuits aren’t something you bought at Radio Shack
They had OP amps, lots of stuff. I'm not sure what you are saying. Though over the years less and less. LOL
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lifeisabeach Avatar
17 months ago

Circuits aren’t something you bought at Radio Shack
Yeah. Seems there was a City you could get those at...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)