picture released, John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
The computer sold at auction was owned by two people before it was sold
A copy of Apple’s first computer, built in 1976 by co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, sold for $400,000 at an auction in the United States.
The device, a rare “Apple 1” model, is still working fine.
John Moran Auctions stated that the computer was owned by two people: a university professor and his student, who had previously purchased the computer for $650.
The computer came with a user manual and an Apple operating system software manual.
The computer has a koa-wood case that was added by a major PC retailer in California called Petshop, which bought about 50 Apple 1s at the time.
“This type of device is considered sacred to collectors of vintage electronics and computer technologies,” Apple 1 computer expert Corey Cohen told the Los Angeles Times ahead of the auction, which took place Tuesday in Monrovia.
“That makes it exciting for a lot of people,” Cohen said.
picture released, John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
Jobs, Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple on April 1, 1976, in a California auto repair garage.
To help with the production of the Apple 1 computer, Jobs sold a minibus he owned, while Wozniak sold the HP 65 calculator for $500.
It is believed that about 20 devices from the first computers Apple manufactured are still capable of working.
The computer sold at auction is not the most valuable of the “Apple 1” devices, and it is still working fine, with another copy of the device selling for $905,000 at Bonhams auction in New York in 2014.