Following the record-breaking auction of a sealed 4GB original iPhone for almost $200,000, a new lot of rare Apple items is up for grabs. The latest auction includes Apple’s second check ever written which is signed by both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, a working Apple-1, another sealed original iPhone, and more.
Update 8/25/23: The rare check quickly surpassed the $50,000 estimate and ended up going for a bid of $135,261. However, another document signed by Steve Jobs actually sold for more.
Interestingly, while Apple’s second check ever written by Jobs and Woz was estimated to garner more than an ad handwritten by Jobs, the latter sold for $40,000 more.
The Apple-1 Computer draft written by Steve Jobs in 1976 sold for a whopping $175,759. That’s nearly as much as a fully working Apple-1 that sold in the auction for $223,520.
You can check out the rest of the auction results over at RR Auction.
The latest lot of Apple memorabilia is up for sale through RR Auction which includes over 50 rare items.
Jobs and Wozniak signed check
In 1976, the second check that Apple wrote was to a PCB supplier as it working on building the Apple-1. Here’s the background on this signed check that could go for $50,000+.
Historic Wells Fargo bank check, 7.5 x 3, filled out and signed by Steve Jobs, “steven jobs,” and countersigned by Steve Wozniak, “Steve Wozniak,” payable to Ramlor, Inc. for $116.97, March 19, 1976. This temporary check, issued upon opening Apple’s first bank account, bears the same routing and account numbers as other early Apple Computer Company checks we have offered—those, however, date to July 1976 and are imprinted with Apple’s first official address at ‘770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto’—the location of an answering service and mail drop that they used while still operating out of the famous Jobs family garage. In very fine condition.
Marked as check “No. 2,” this ultra-early check pre-dates the official founding of Apple Computer, Inc.—some thirteen days later, on April 1, 1976, co-founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne would sign the partnership agreement that officially brought Apple Computer into existence. The agreement assigned 45% of the company to each of the Steves, and 10% to Wayne. It also required any expenditure over $100 to be approved by two of the partners—perhaps the reason that both Jobs and Woz signed this check.
Based on the early date, this check for $116.97 to Ramlor, Inc.—a Palo Alto-area printed circuit board maker—likely represents payment for boards affiliated with the first Apple-1 Computers. The product was originally conceived as a PCB kit to be soldered together by the end user, a standard practice for hobbyist computer kits of the period. However, the scope of the project broadened when they approached Paul Terrell, owner of The Byte Shop in Mountain View, California, one of the first personal computer stores in the world.
Check out the listing for more details. Bidding is open until August 24.
Apple-1 signed by Wozniak
Expected to go for $200,000+ is a fully operational Apple-1 in a handmade case signed by Steve Wozniak.
A sought-after fully operational Apple-1 computer (also commonly known as the Apple I, or Apple Computer 1), complete with its period custom-built case, keyboard, and power supply. This Apple-1 is easily identifiable by two small holes which have been used to secure the keyboard cable when mounted in the case, and by Steve Wozniak’s signature, “Woz,” in the prototype area, signed during a 2017 event at Bryant University.
This Apple-1 was acquired by the current owner in 1980 at the Computer Hobbyist Show in Framingham, Massachusetts, and the computer was in use throughout the 1980s. It was brought to an operational state by Corey Cohen at the myapplecomputer labs in May/June 2023, and a video of it running and functioning is available upon request. A comprehensive, technical condition report prepared by Cohen is available to qualified bidders.
This auction is also open until August 24.
More rare items in this auction include:
Check out everything in this Apple and Steve Jobs auction at RR Auction.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
