Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Old Apple 1 Up For Auction, Expected To Go For $160,000+

Posted by Soulskill on from the doesn't-run-flash dept.

vanstinator was one of several readers to point out that Christie's is holding an auction for one of the original Apple 1 machines, complete with a manual, the original shipping box, and the letter from Steve Jobs to the owner. The invoice says the computer was purchased on December 7th, 1976, with an Apple cassette interface card, for a total price of $741.66. The auction house expects it to sell for over $160,000.

35 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Same old Same old by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Overpriced Apple Product? How is this news?

    (I keed I keed)

    1. Re:Same old Same old by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't be silly. After 25 years of inflation, it's actually a slight discount.

      --
      ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  2. 1up by rwa2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Gee, thanks for getting the Mario Brother's 1up sound effect stuck in my head. It's not something I associate at all with my experiences with Apple products :-P

    Drips and "eeps", on the other hand...

  3. Steve Jobs, the Satanist by RingDev · · Score: 4, Funny

    This explains so much!

    However, because the motherboard was completely pre-assembled, it represented a major step forward in comparison with the competing self-assembly kits of the day. Priced at $666.66, the first Apple-1s were despatched from the garage of Steve Jobs' parents' house - the return address on the original packaging present here.

    That's right. Steve started selling the Apple 1 for the price of the mark of the beast.

    -Rick

    --
    "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    1. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by jo_ham · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The mark of the beast is 616. The monks copying up the bible and translating it assumed that it was the handwritten equivalent of a typo, and that the number should really be 666. And thus, an editorial decision affected millions of people down through the ages who freak out when 666 comes up, eg in their change or as a price for a bunch of items, or a bus route or house number.

    2. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by Princeofcups · · Score: 5, Funny

      That rounds up to 667, the neighbor of the beast.

      --
      The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
    3. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      >That rounds up to 667, the neighbor of the beast.

      Not sure how it works in the US but on most streets over here (UK), 664 and 668 are the neighbours of the beast while 667 is normally on the opposite side of the road.

    4. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      not sure how it works in the UK, but in the US, the house across the street can be considered a neighbor.

    5. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by fishexe · · Score: 2, Funny

      Here in the US, we call all the people in your neighborhood "neighbors", including those across the street, down the block, and around the corner. The distinction of 664 and 668 is that they are next-door neighbors of the beast. Presumably, the beast has a larger neighborhood than just those two.

      Which I suppose makes the question relevant, "Is the Antichrist British or American?"

      --
      "I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
    6. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by Plekto · · Score: 3, Informative

      According to a show I saw on the History Channel, it was actually code for the name of the current Roman emperor (so as to get past the Roman censors). And that it changed a couple of times to slightly different numbers. The original author's point was actually a scathing commentary on any form of centralized government or empire. Which makes logical sense as well for someone under arrest for their beliefs - typical rebellious manifesto type writing. But somehow that got lost after The First Council of Nicaea and the alterations that they enforced.

    7. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 2, Informative

      They never changed it. If you read the bible it references 616 for the mark of the beast. I have no idea where the 666 ever came from.

      Actually, both numbers are in the same passage in versions of the bible from the same period. It's 616 in the earliest versions in greek, but 666 in some latin versions. This actually makes sense as historians believe it was a numerological code used to identify the emperor and since his name had different characters in each language it adds up differently.

    8. Re:Steve Jobs, the Satanist by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can't believe an atheist is gonna have to correct you: "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666" (Rev. 13:16-18)

      As for TFA it just shows the crazy prices fanbois will pay for "their" product's history. I wouldn't be surprised if someone could get the same for one of the first Amiga machines or even the first C64. Fanbois have crazy loyalty even when it makes NO sense for them. Just look at how many stayed loyal to Apple when the Pepsi guy was pushing crap and running it into the ground. I bet you'd see just as crazy a price for a sealed copy of Windows 1 with a personal letter from Bill Gates. Nothing remarkable there.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  4. Replica I by Hatta · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you're interested in the Apple I from a retro-computing standpoint, instead of owning a museum piece, you can actually buy a kit and build a clone.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    1. Re:Replica I by bhtooefr · · Score: 2, Informative

      And there's another clone using a similar approach (of emulating the video section with a microcontroller,) and a 100% trace-for-trace replica (read: except for the cloner's signature hiding in the board, you can't tell that it's a clone at all) out there.

      (There's also the Obtronix replica, which is 100% chip-for-chip, but not trace-for-trace, identical. It's no longer in production, though.)

  5. First time this is actually appropriate... by Shikaku · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes but..

    Does it run Linux?

    1. Re:First time this is actually appropriate... by Dayofswords · · Score: 2, Interesting

      can you get linux running on 8KB of RAM?

      If so, I salute you.

      --
      Someday we'll hit the human carrying capacity. And the band will just play on.
    2. Re:First time this is actually appropriate... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can get it running but I can't catch it aftewards.

    3. Re:First time this is actually appropriate... by LWATCDR · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How about Contiki instead?

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  6. Apple releases... by Subm · · Score: 5, Funny

    No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

    1. Re:Apple releases... by blair1q · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're holding it wrong.

    2. Re:Apple releases... by AdmiralXyz · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't bother clicking the Anonymous button, Taco. We know it's you.

      --
      Dislike the Electoral College? Lobby your state to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
  7. The auction house expects? by RapmasterT · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think the auction house HOPES it will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars...expecting it is an exercise in wishful thinking. The art of predicting auction prices on rare items is based on historical sales of similar items, this is a pretty unusual and unique circumstance.

    Part of me wants to trust them as experts, but part of me also feels that old (albeit rare) computer parts don't have the value they think it does. I guess we'll find out.

    1. Re:The auction house expects? by RapmasterT · · Score: 2, Insightful

      On items with this sort of juice, the auction house usually guesses way low.

      this sort of juice? This is an old computer with a good box and receipt, not a Picasso.

    2. Re:The auction house expects? by blair1q · · Score: 3, Funny

      Of course it isn't a Picasso. The price is $160 thousand, not $160 million.

      As for the "juice", if you just got the boards it would just be a computer. With the other paraphernalia you've got a whole museum setting in one package. Anyone musing on this will be given to imagine the original owner's entire experience being one of the pioneers of computing at home. There's a depth and breadth of context that one more circuit board doesn't bring to it. And then there's the autograph and a record of Jobs' customer-service style, with a bit of wry irony in that it's typewritten.

      $160k is the low end of Christie's estimate. The high end is quite low, too.

  8. I'll Bid if it has.. by vchoy · · Score: 2, Funny

    The 3 GEEs and the WI-FIs... ....oh but I guess you really meant BEE GEEs and the HI-FIs??!?!

  9. Re:$666.66 WTF? by blackraven14250 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not witchcraft. Cult leading.

  10. VIC-20 up for auction, bargain at 1/2 the price :) by mrnick · · Score: 2, Funny

    Really???

    I have a Commodore PET and several VIC-20's to put up for auction!! I know, I know the VIC-20 only had a 22 column display but no worries I'll throw in a 40 column cartridge adapter for a mere $20,000, a MUST have if your television tube is larger than 12", huh??? ;)

    --

    Encryption: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to encrypt it...
  11. Huh, things improved by dazedNconfuzed · · Score: 2, Interesting

    For that price you can get a Mac Pro today:
    One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem”
    3GB (3x1GB)
    1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
    One 18x SuperDrive
    Apple Magic Mouse
    Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

    Or, using the original numbers, you can get a 32GB iPad 3G.

    Or, being one of the guys who built it, you could be worth ~$6,000,000,000.

    --
    Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
  12. Genius Bar?? by rwrife · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I was dumb enough to buy it, first thing I would do would be to take it to the Apple Store and ask them how to launch iPhoto on it.

  13. Apple I Doesn't Have Flash by bkmoore · · Score: 5, Funny

    Before you fan boys go falling over yourselves to buy the Apple I, be aware that Steve Jobs won't support the Flash Plugin on it. According to Steve Jobs, "Flash is a resource killer, and in order to deliver the best computing experience possible while running Integer BASIC on the 6502, we have dropped Flash." That being said, it should be possible to install Flash from a third-party cassette tape.

    1. Re:Apple I Doesn't Have Flash by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm pretty sure this flamewar should have been over 30 years ago

      --
      (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
  14. More auctions by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Check out the other auctions Christie's is having in SALE 7882. Very rare books, computer manuals, patent for the ENIAC, first edition paper by Babbage, and an Enigma machine (lot 59). Plus other antique books and maps, etc.

    There is vastly more nerdy stuff for rich collectors than a mere Apple 1.

  15. Who assembled it? by RevWaldo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Any chance Wozniak and/or Jobs were amongst the people who put it together? Or did they have people by then?

    .

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
    1. Re:Who assembled it? by bjb · · Score: 2, Informative
      Highly likely that Woz probably touched it, but less so for Jobs, I would think. I've read in historical accounts that they employed a sibling to stuff boards and also there's the 3rd founder Ronald Wayne who may still have been part of it at this point; I believe he left sometime in 1976. This is serial number 87 (?) and I believe they only produced about 200.

      I would imagine that Jobs was probably out hustling, so that would be his lower chance. However, the letter would most likely have been typed and signed by him.

      My semi-educated guess.

      --
      Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
  16. Re:Steve Jobs is Thrilled by bhtooefr · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually, in the case of the Apple-1, you have to hit Reset after you turn it on, and then you get dumped into the Monitor.

    Then your options are to hand-type BASIC in, or to load it from cassette (if you have the ACI or a replica thereof, which this one does.)