Rare Apple I computer attracts bids of more than US$79,000 on eBay

23 Apr 2015

The rare Apple I computer

With less than 12 hours to go, a rare Apple I computer has attracted bids of US$79,100 on eBay at the time of writing. The collector will donate 10pc of the proceeds of the sale to the ALS Association in the US.

The auction for the 1976 computer that emerged from the garage of Steve Jobs has attracted more than 82 bids.

The Apple I was the first pre-assembled personal computer made by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and was sold at a price of US$666.66.

Around 200 were produced overall and about 63 are known to have survived.

Collector Bob Luther sold a different Apple I through Christie’s last year for US$365,000.

Luther is also auctioning off rare items that include a copy of the 1976 partnership agreement signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne.

The machine comes with an extremely rare Apple I cassette board and was recently serviced by Apple I expert Corey Cohen.

The machine is understood to be part of the first order from the Byte Shop to Steve Jobs that prompted Jobs and Wozniak to start Apple.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com