In an interesting twist, the cancelled check formed part of the evidence used to achieve historical listing status for the Jobs family home in Los Altos, just over a year ago.

“My computer had been purchased directly from Jobs, and based on the buyers address on the check, he lived four miles from Jobs.” “I knew it had been sold from the garage of Steve Jobs in July of 1976, because I had the buyer’s canceled check,” Luther wrote on a kickstarter page soliciting funding for a book on the machine’s history.

The current owner, Robert Luther, bought it in 2004 from a police auction. Ricketts died with the computer in storage. 11, is the only known surviving Apple-1 documented as having been sold directly by Jobs, then just 21, to an individual from the Los Altos, California family home, Christie’s said. The so-called Ricketts Apple-1 Personal Computer, named after its original owner Charles Ricketts and being sold on Dec. Originally bought for $600, the auction house says it is expected to sell for more than half a million dollars, reports Reuters. It is the only surviving Apple I known to have been personally sold by Jobs in 1976. That would probably be the third Apple cofounder, Ron Wayne, selling his 10% of the company back to the two Steves for $800 – stock that would now be worth billions. Even the original founding contract for Apple Computer sold back in 2011 for $1.6M.Ī fully operational Apple I computer with documentation showing that it was purchased direct from Steve Jobs is being auctioned by Christies on 11th December. Bonhams a uctioneer Cassandra Hatton described the trade-in as “probably the worst financial transaction in history” – though we’d have to disagree. This model was apparently traded in at a computer shop by the original owner, who had used it only once and didn’t like it. Owner Tom Romkey sold a previous Apple I in 2014 for a world record £564k ($857k). The machine is believed to be one of only six original Apple I computers in working order, a previous one selling in 2013 for $671k.

It’s one of the best condition Apple-1s we’ve ever seen – not just at auction, but at any physical place at all.” It has been authenticated as one of the first 50 constructed by Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs’ garage, and is said to be fully working and in fantastic condition.Ĭorey Cohen, Apple-1 expert and member of the Board of Directors for Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists Museum said: “It’s in incredible condition. It’s nearly 40 years old, next year. An original Apple I is being auctioned by Bonhams in New York in October, and is expected to sell for upwards of half a million dollars, reports Quirker.

New apple computers 2018