A rare functional example of Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, is for sale on eBay, with its seller asking for $ 1.5 million for the privilege of having a technological history.
As described in the article, first noticed by IGN, the model is verified as original by Corey Cohen, an Apple 1 expert whose knowledge is often sought for evaluations at larger auctions.
Known as the “Canadian” in Mike Willegal’s Apple-1 register, the example on eBay is one of six known surviving units to be housed in an original KOA Byte Shop wooden box. It comes with an original power supply and a Datanetics Version D keyboard, as well as a correct Sony TV-115 period monitor with video modulator.
The Apple 1 board is unchanged and is in “almost perfect” condition, according to the seller. It is also one of the few remaining units that will be fully operational, a proven point when it operated for over six hours a day while on display at the Vintage Computer Festival West in 2019.
Current owner Krishna B. Blake bought Apple 1 in 1978 from its original owner as part of a replacement deal for a newer Apple II. The Blake computer store in Montreal was responsible for the maintenance of the Apple II before Apple entered Canada.
Despite its genealogical and current status, Apple 1 for sale through eBay may not bring in the asking price of $ 1.5 million for Blake. Other examples approached the $ 1 million barrier, the closest being a $ 905,000 sale in 2014, but more recent auctions attracted bids below $ 500,000.
A total of 200 Apple 1 computers were manufactured, each hand-built by co-founder Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, California. When the product was first launched in 1976, it sold for $ 666.66 with no power supply, display, keyboard or housing.