»Apple 1 Computer, 1976« sold for $640.000 in Cologne

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

((quoted from Auction House Breker; text and image (c) Breker))

»Apple 1 Computer, 1976«
sold for 500,000.- Euro (or: US$ 640,000.-)
Record-Breaking Sale of Historical Technology in Cologne

Apple fans around the globe were watching on iPads and iPhones, Tablets and MacBooks as the personal computer that started it all, an Apple 1 from 1976, went under the hammer in Germany on Saturday 24 November.

The development of Apple Inc. from a home-brewed business run from the garage of one of its founders, college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, into the world's highest-valued company in 2012 has an iconic, almost legendary quality. Jobs and "Woz" became friends while working for Hewlett-Packard in 1970, and the rest is pure computer history.

From the death of Steve Jobs in 2011 to the new products which are sold out only days after they are introduced, Apple Inc. is constantly in the news. This is also true of historic Apple machines that appear, albeit rarely, on the open market.

Of the two hundred Apple 1 units produced, just 43 are thought to have survived, and of these only six in working order, according to Apple author Mike Willegal. One was sold for a then record price of US$ 374,500 in New York in June 2012. However, the example sold last week in Cologne, which retained its original period peripherals – transformer, Panasonic 2102 cassette recorder, Sony monitor and Datanetics ASCII keyboard – in addition to reprints of the original manual and schematic diagram signed by "Woz", exceeded the previous world record by nearly 70% !!!

Television crews and the national press gathered in the saleroom to document the final tournament between two telephone bidders, who took the bidding from Euro 70,000.- to Euro 400,000.- (Euro 491,868.- with premium – or US$ 640,000.-) in less than four minutes. The historic sale was also captured online at Liveauctioneers.com and three other online platforms and even commemorated by a digital message in New York's Time Square display.
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