https://www.engadget.com/2249655/rare-working-apple-1-computer-heads-to-auction/
A piece of Apple history is headed to auction... again. The "Hatfield" Apple I computer, which sold for $671,400 in 2013, will be back on the block this fall. This time, auction house Bonhams expects it to sell for between $500,000 and $800,000 — just slightly higher than its original retail price of $666.66.
This particular Apple I is nicknamed for its original owner, Fred Hatfield, who bought it during Apple's inaugural year. The still-working machine is listed at No. 48 on the Apple I Registry. There are reportedly fewer than 75 surviving Apple I computers today, and even fewer that are still operational. The motherboard is signed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who designed the computer.
It's hard to see the Apple I as a consumer-friendly product by today's standards. After all, buyers had to supply their own power supply, keyboard and monitor. It had a whopping 4KB of RAM. But in the mid-1970s, a machine that came with a fully assembled motherboard and built-in video output was as approachable as a computer got. Only around 200 Apple I computers were produced.
Today, the Apple I is valued more for its historical significance and scarcity than its status as a world-changing product. It wasn't until the Apple II that the company broke away from the hobbyist market to become the household name it is today.
Alongside the autographed Apple I, the well-heeled buyer will also receive a letter signed by Steve Jobs. In addition to being a grade-A collector's item in its own right, the letter illustrates that, in the '70s, Jobs apparently handled at least some of the company's customer service.
Hatfield had contacted Apple to complain about the lack of software for the first-generation computer. In the 1978 letter, Jobs responded with a trade-in offer. "This letter is confirm our conversation of January 16th," Jobs wrote. "You are hereby authorized to send to Apple Computer Inc. your Apple I (without memory) and a check for $400.00 and in return are to be sent an Apple Il 4K board. We hope to be hearing from you soon."
Hatfield declined and later sold the Apple I to a collector for $40,000. That's a fraction of what it's worth today, but at least the original owner used the money to pay for good dinners and nights of music in New Orleans.
Bonhams plans to take the Apple I on a tour before the October 14 auction. The auction house will showcase it in Los Angeles from September 9 to 11, Boston from September 21 to 23, San Francisco from September 30 to October 1, and finally New York during its October sale.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 04, @04:46PM
of fools and their money.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Friday September 04, @07:42PM (1 child)
If you or your friends don't have that, you're hanging out with the wrong crowd.
I built a Replica I like 15 years ago its fun and was not hard to get running. There's an ecosystem of "apple I alikes" and the replica I was not a clone, the PCB is like 4 layers and machine routed so its about the size of a book for the functionality of an original. Also IIRC it uses one static ram chip instead of WTF an original Apple I uses.
Still I think its funny when AI or journalist or journalist AI assumes the general public would fanatically buy an apple 1 to run wozmon "if only they had a monitor". BW composite out IIRC, my replica has a RCA jack.
There are also people selling clones, including, I would assume, counterfeit clones. So that's an issue for anyone dumb enough to buy it. Even if this is real, AliExpress is going to ship qty 100,000 of clones next month for $9 each because nobody in China cares about Imaginary Property law. Also as a country they don't care about shipping fake chips, so not having original chips isn't an issue. Only a madman would power up an original Apple 1 given how much its worth, correct? So fake chinese chips will be fine in a fake chinese import Apple I. Its a serious value risk even if the one up for sale is genuine.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 05, @12:54AM
You think people had power supplies, keyboards, and monitors laying around in the mid 70s? What are you, 12?
(Score: 4, Informative) by jelizondo on Saturday September 05, @12:31AM
Hats off to Woz, who was perhaps the last decent tech bro in history and f&ck off to Jobs, a despicable replica for a human being.
For the newby, Jobs screwed Woz royally [reddit.com]
(Score: 2) by DadaDoofy on Saturday September 05, @09:52PM
Today, it has no value whatsoever as a computer, and even turning it on to verify the claim that it still "works" risks killing it dead. Its only value is as a display piece in a museum, or as a trophy in a wealthy techie's private collection.
A computer that has considerably more significance in the history of personal computing was the Timex/Sinclair 1000. Unlike the Apple I, and instead of being sold at an exclusive Californian nerd computer store, it was the first computer sold through normal mass marketing retail channels to the general public.
When adjusted for inflation, the Apple I would have sold for $1,130.63 in 1982, but the TS 1000 sold for just $99. Another ting that set it aside from Apple products of the day, and quite significant at the time, was the capability of connecting through an included RF adapter to a standard TV as a CRT display, and a standard cassette tape recorder for storage. That it was really just 99 bucks to get it up and running was a significant game changer.
"On April 20, 1982, Ross made the historic press announcement introducing the TS1000, breaking the critical psychological barrier with the tagline “the first computer under $100.”
The marketing strategy Ross developed targeted three distinct segments simultaneously: first-time computer customers, the educational market, and computer enthusiasts. Ross leveraged Timex’s existing retail network of over 171,000 locations, including department stores like Macy’s, K-Mart’s 1,100+ stores, jewelry stores, and even drug stores to sell the TS 1000."