The Apple I used by Steve Jobs goes on sale
In the history of technology , few innovations have had a greater impact than the invention of the personal computer. And at the heart of this revolution were two young visionaries, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who in the 1970s came up with an invention that would go on to transform the world: the Apple I, which was born from their passion for electronics and a vision of making computers accessible to everyone.
The birth of a dream
They made an incredible duo : Wozniak was a prodigy as a computer engineer, with a gift for designing efficient and elegant circuits, and Jobs was the great visionary. Creating their first big project was not easy. They needed more than just ingenuity; financial resources that the young entrepreneurs simply did not have. This led to the decision to sell their personal belongings to finance their venture. It required Jobs to sell his 1966 Volkswagen Kombi for $1,500 and Wozniak to get rid of his cutting-edge HP calculator for $500 . This allowed them to invest in the development of the Apple Computer I. With their $2,000 they created the first batch of Apple I computers, which included a MOS 6502 microprocessor, 4 KB of RAM (upgradable to an impressive 8 KB) , and a video output to connect to a monitor.
There were 200 made, selling for $666.66 each (a figure commonly associated with the devil, a marketing ploy that surprised everyone and was essentially based on his penchant for repeating digits, according to the National Museum of American History), but only 70 of them included the original motherboard. Of those 70, only one belonged to Jobs. The visionary genius kept one in his office for years as a memento. And now, it can be yours after the Living Computer Museum+ Labs was forced to close in 2020 due to global restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the entire planet and, lacking financial resources, they were forced to relocate hundreds of items, including Steve Jobs’ Apple I.
Not only the Apple I is being auctioned
And it won’t be the only unusual/rare object that will be on display that day in September. This is a major auction that includes other unusual items such as the astronaut suit of the American Buzz Aldrin (one of the first two humans, along with Commander Neil Armstrong, to set foot on the Moon in 1969), which is expected to go under the hammer for around $100,000 to $150,000, a three-piece scale model of the Gemini capsule (which will sell for around $8,000 to $12,000), a four-rotor Enigma cipher machine from the time of World War II (which could sell for around $250,000-350,000), or a menu from the famous ship Titanic, which ended up sinking on the night of April 14-15, 1912 after hitting a huge iceberg that they were trying to avoid (for around $30,000 to $50,000).
This auction undoubtedly marks a significant moment in the history of technology, as the Apple-I, albeit on a modest scale, laid the groundwork for the personal computing revolution and Apple’s rise as a technology leader. With the arrival of the Apple II, the device became one of the first highly successful mass-produced personal computers, establishing Apple as a major player in the emerging technology industry, democratising technology and making computing accessible to everyone – for individuals and for small and large businesses.
It goes up for auction
Jobs’ computer is expected to fetch an estimated $500,000 to $800,000 at auction, according to Christie’s, which will host the event on September 12 in New York City, describing it as “a herald of the home computing revolution and the Internet age.” It’s hard to forget that this device laid the groundwork for the modern technological landscape and its appearance at auction has sparked significant interest from both collectors and technology enthusiasts, so it’s no surprise that the figures it fetches on auction day will be astronomical and affordable. It will be a one-of-a-kind auction.
