# Rare Apple 1 Computer Put Up for Auction

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rare-apple-1-computer-put-up-for-auction/633176>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 30, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rare-apple-1-computer-put-up-for-auction/633176 "2012-08-30T18:59:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rare-apple-1-computer-put-up-for-auction/633176/1 "2012-08-30T18:59:37Z")

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Link to CNN article [here](http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/30/technology/apple-1-christies/index.html?source=cnn_bin).

> [@](#):
>
> NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – The Apple gadget that will fetch the highest sales price this fall won’t be an iPhone 5, an iPad Mini or even a new Macintosh, but a 36-year-old circuit board called the Apple I.
> 
> Christie’s is set to put the 1976 computer up for auction on Oct. 9 in London, at which it is expected to sell for anywhere between $79,000 to $126,500.

I am aware of all this - i.e., that early computers are avidly collected; that Apples are especially desired, etc. It still bakes my noodle to step back and contemplate stuff like this - to think of an Apple 1 as “rare” like it is a Faberge Egg or something. Back in the day, growing up just above Palo Alto in Redwood City, they were interesting gadgets…

I wonder what first-gen iPods, iPhones, etc. will end up selling for assuming they become collectible?

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rare-apple-1-computer-put-up-for-auction/633176/2 "2012-08-30T22:21:35Z")

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The difference is that the Apple I was made in scarcely more than prototype quantities, with only 50 or so known to exist of the 200 that were made. A better comparison would be for how much a pre-production prototype of the first-gen iPod might sell for as they’ve sold about 300 million iPods since the product was introduced in 2001.

Two weeks ago, someone sold a first-gen iPod on [eBay](http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Sealed-Apple-iPod-classic-1st-Generation-MAC-10-GB-Stand-Brochure-/330778113322?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item4d03e9752a#ht_485wt_1138) for $400, which is one dollar more than it sold for in 2001, making it a poor investment.

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**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rare-apple-1-computer-put-up-for-auction/633176/3 "2012-08-31T02:35:39Z")

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> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> Two weeks ago, someone sold a first-gen iPod on [eBay](http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Sealed-Apple-iPod-classic-1st-Generation-MAC-10-GB-Stand-Brochure-/330778113322?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item4d03e9752a#ht_485wt_1138) for $400, which is one dollar more than it sold for in 2001, making it a poor investment.

They should have waited 20 more years before selling it, then it might be as valuable as an Apple I today, although it still isn’t quite the same thing (plus you would have to get a new battery for it, the hard drive might not like the long-term storage either, either from lubrication drying out or magnetic “bit rot”).