14 DAY TRIAL // A fully functional Apple 1 computer with the original operation manuals, cassettes, and a shipping box signed “Woz,” failed to sell at a Team Breker auction, but quickly got picked up by an anonymous buyer as soon as the bidding closed.
The opening price was €180.000 ($243.000), which apparently put off a lot of potential bidders who were hoping to raise their hands once or twice before settling on such an exorbitant price, be it for one of the rarest pieces in vintage computing.
Just as the auction closed with no buyers in sight, Auction Team Breker got two calls from two separate people interested in taking the legendary computer off their hands.
Uwe Breker told Cult of Mac, “The Apple 1 was sold right after it was closed in the auction as 2 bidders were surprised that it didn’t sell and called immediately and left their bids: Euro 180.000 resp. 200.000, so the final price was Euro 246.000,- or US$ 330,000.”
According to the press release put forth by Auction Team Breker, the system was number 46 in Steve Jobs’ and Steve Wozniak’s earliest order of 50 units by electronics chain ”Byte Shop,” in the early days of Apple Computer Inc.
“The first series of Apple computers were assembled in the Jobs’ family house before the youthful firm moved into its now legendary garage workshop in his parental home,” says Breker.
“The scarce photograph shows a pile of identical white boxes awaiting shipment in one of the bedrooms.”
The picture in question is available above (click to enlarge).
It should be noted that the €246.000 / $330,000 purchase price for this Apple 1 is way below the record €500.000 / $676.000 price fetched by another Apple 1 sold by Breker a few months ago.
Which begs the question. Is Apple’s value diminishing in the eyes of the public?