"Estimated Price Starts at $690,000... Jobs and Wozniak's First Garage-Built Apple-1 Heads to Auction"

Bonhams to Auction "Apple-1" Online Next Month

Estimated Value: $500,000 to $800,000 — Over 1.1 Billion Won

Includes a Reply Letter from Jobs Addressing a Complaint about "No Software"

The first product made by the two Apple founders in their garage, the "Apple-1," will go up for auction next month.

The first personal computer (PC) 'Apple-1' engraved with the signature of Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and a letter sent by Steve Jobs, Apple's co-founder, to the original owner of this device are going up for auction. Bonhams

On September 2 (local time), the UK auction house Bonhams announced that it will be auctioning this device, engraved with the signature of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, through an online sale in October. The estimated price is between $500,000 and $800,000 (approximately 690 million to 1.1 billion won). A letter sent by the other co-founder, Steve Jobs, to the owner at the time will also be included in the auction.

The "Apple-1," whose circuit was built by Wozniak, was the first PC sold fully assembled. In 1975, Wozniak joined the Homebrew Computer Club, and the following year he joined forces with Jobs to commercialize the mainboard. The two established "Apple Computer Company" in the garage of Jobs’ parents’ home on April 1, 1976.

That same year, Apple supplied 50 units of the "Apple-1" to the computer retailer Byte Shop. The retail price set by Byte Shop was $666.66 (about 910,000 won). In the past, Wozniak explained, "The production cost was around $540, and with a reasonable margin, the price came to $666. Jobs added 66 cents to make the price stand out in advertisements." He also clarified, "The number has nothing to do with the devil; I just liked repeating digits." A total of 200 units were produced, and about 175 were sold. It is believed that fewer than 75 units have survived to this day.

The item being offered in this auction is listed as number 48 in the "Apple-1 Registry." The original owner, Fred Hatfield, used the device for work at Computer Data Systems, but once sent a complaint letter to Apple, expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of usable software. In response, Jobs wrote back in January 1978, offering to exchange his "Apple-1" for an "Apple-2" if Hatfield returned the device and paid an additional $400 (about 540,000 won).

A reply letter from Steve Jobs to Fred Hatfield, the original owner of the device. Bonhams

However, Hatfield declined the exchange offer and instead sold the device to a collector for $40,000 (about 54 million won). At that time, the device was not operational. The new owner personally repaired and restored it, obtained Wozniak’s autograph, and then resold it at an auction in 2013 for $671,400 (about 912 million won).

The value of the "Apple-1" has continued to rise ever since. In a New York auction in 2014, an operational unit was sold for $905,000 (about 1.23 billion won), and in September 2024, a device that had once sat on Jobs’ desk fetched $945,000 (about 1.28 billion won).

At the RR Auction marking "Apple’s 50th Anniversary," which concluded this January, the "Prototype Board No. 0," produced before commercial mass production, was sold for $2.75 million (about 3.73 billion won), setting a new record for an Apple-1-related item. In the same auction, the first check jointly signed by the two founders sold for $2,409,886 (about 3.27 billion won). RR Auction explained, "Jobs was very particular about signing memorabilia, so items with his autograph are extremely rare and popular among collectors."

The final auction price of an "Apple-1" varies depending on its condition and provenance. Ahead of this auction, Bonhams plans to showcase the device in various U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, and New York.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.