Goldin Auctions has listed an original Apple 1 computer for bidding, which claims the computer was produced in Apple’s first batch. The site says, “this offering, standing at number seven on the Apple-1 Registry, is the only first batch example that has been up for auction in a number of years and is the first Apple-1 ever offered with an authenticated serial number (“01-0050″) handwritten by Steve Jobs. The computer has been verified in working condition by Daniel Kottke, who was one of the first employees to work at Apple when the Apple-1 was being produced.”
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak hand-built each Apple 1, including this model, but the computer only consisted of the motherboard — you had to build (or buy from someone else) a display, power supply, and keyboard. The complete package up for auction includes a Sanyo VM-4509 monitor and a Datanetics keyboard, as well as a modern cassette interface (for loading data and programs) and a reproduction of the original manual signed by Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
The Apple 1 was an 8-bit microcomputer first released in 1976, designed by Steve Wozniak (who went on to develop most of the Apple II and other products). It was built around the MOS 6502 CPU, which was also used in devices like the Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System, with 4 KB of RAM standard and 40×24 text mode graphics. Only around 175 of the computers are believed to have been sold, and the Apple 1 was discontinued after the Apple II was released in 1977, which established Apple as a household name.
This is the second Apple 1 to show up for auction within the past few months. Another model was sold for $500,000 back in November, which had an even rarer wooden case constructed from Hawaiian koa wood.
Source: Goldin
