Computers

Extremely rare fully-operational Apple I computer up for auction

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One of the six remaining fully-operational Apple I computers in the world is up for auction next month
Close up of the name plate on the Apple I motherboard
Each of the 200 or so Apple I computers was hand-built by Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak
The rear of the Apple I computer being auctioned by Auction Team Breker of Cologne, Germany
The only modern additions are a replica cassette-interface-card and the cassettes containing the operating software
Only 43 of the original production run of 200 have survived, and of those, just six are still in working order
The now famous Apple logo displayed on the period black-and-white Sanyo monitor bundled with the Apple I being auctioned
One of the six remaining fully-operational Apple I computers in the world is up for auction next month
Apple's first customers only got a motherboard full of chips for their cash and had to add their own monitor (or small TV set), power pack, keyboard and cassette recorder
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On April 1, 1976, a new company was established to sell a ready-made personal computer designed and built by Steve Wozniak. The first Apple computers were assembled in the family garage of business partner and friend Steve Jobs and sold to the Byte Shop for US$500 each, subsequently retailing for $666.66. The rest, as they say, is history. Apple has since become a colossal consumer electronics concern, and of the 200 or so Apple I computers ever produced, only 43 have survived. Of those, just six are still in working order and one of those is scheduled to hit the auction block in Germany next month.

Unlike computer buyers today, Apple's first customers only got a motherboard full of chips for their cash and had to add their own monitor (or small TV set), power pack, keyboard and cassette recorder (to load in the operating system). The company didn't even offer an outer housing, but Wozniak told the Homebrew Computer Club that his design allowed a user to work on a "human-typable keyboard instead of a stupid, cryptic front panel with a bunch of lights and switches."

Apple's first customers only got a motherboard full of chips for their cash and had to add their own monitor (or small TV set), power pack, keyboard and cassette recorder

The peripherals accompanying the rare working model now being offered by Auction Team Breker of Cologne, Germany are from the period and include a Datanetics ASCII keyboard (as recommended by Apple at the time), a black-and-white Sanyo monitor and an original Panasonic 2102 cassette recorder.

The included Apple-1 operation manual shows the original Apple Computers Co logo depicting Sir Isaac Newton sitting beneath an apple tree (this was changed in February 1977 to the logo still in use today). Both the manual and the schematic bear Wozniak's signature, too.

The only modern additions to the package are a replica cassette-interface-card and the cassettes containing the operating software. The vendor has also offered to travel anywhere in the world and correctly set up the machine for the new user if needed, so long as his expenses are covered.

Collectors hoping to snag themselves a rare piece of Apple's history should circle November 24 on the calendar and note that the live auction is set to start at 1 AM Pacific Time on November 24. The opening bid has been set at €70,000 (about US$90,800).

Source: Team Breker, Lot 20

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6 comments
Juan de la Cruz
Interesting... I wonder why in the world the original sold for exactly $666.66? Is that indicative of something?
Charlie Channels
Well, Juan....if you are looking for some sort of "demoniac-influenced-price tag" you will be dissapointed. The Byte Shop just wanted a profit of 1/3 the original price tag. $500 x 1.3333 = $666.66. Not very scary or disturbing.....sorry!
Gregg Eshelman
How do they know that only 43 survive and only 6 work?
Peter Kowalchuk-Reid
The burning question here is, can it play tetris?
L1ma
@ Gregg Eshelman
Only 200 were made, the survivors have been sold at auction.
Catweazle
I've still got a 'Science of Cambridge' MK14.
8060 CPU and a humongous 256 BYTES of RAM (no Kb in those days!)
Anybody remember them?