Associated Press
BOSTON — An authenticated Apple-1 Computer prototype from the mid-1970s has sold at auction for nearly $700,000.
According to a report by the Bay Area News Group, “a leading expert and the auction house say the device — a broken circuit board apparently crammed in a drawer for years — is a rare (Steve) Wozniak-built computer that Steve Jobs, Apple’s other co-founder, used to woo a pioneering retailer at a Mountain View computer shop in a seminal tech-industry moment in 1976.”
A Bay Area collector who wishes to remain anonymous made the winning $677,196 bid on Thursday, the auctioneer said.
“There is no Apple-1 without this board — it’s the holy grail of Steve Jobs and Apple memorabilia,” said Bobby Livingston, RR Auction’s executive vice president.
The board has been matched to Polaroid photographs taken by Paul Terrell, owner of the Byte Shop in Mountain View in 1976, showing the prototype in use. It was also examined and authenticated by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen, whose notarized 13-page report accompanied the sale.
The prototype resided on the Apple Garage property for many years before being given by Jobs to the seller about 30 years ago.
Bay Area News Group reporter Ethan Baron contributed to this report.
