Apple-l Prototype Computer Sold for Hefty $677,196

A prototype of the Apple I, the first computer developed by Apple, has sold for nearly 700,000 in the US. The calculator was once owned and used by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself. As the auction house RR Auctions announced, the prototype of the Apple-I circuit board went to a collector from the so-called Bay Area around San Francisco. The collector bought the motherboard for the princely sum of $677,196 but declined to reveal his identity.

The computer in question was once owned by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself. Without this circuit board, there would be no Apple-I, said Bobby Livingston of the auction house through which the device was auctioned. Jobs is said to have used the computer himself before parts of it, including some chips, were removed from the circuit board.

The Circuit board is no longer complete

It is suspected that the chips were used in other early test systems or to build other devices. Authenticity was verified by an experienced expert using old Polaroid photos for verification. Jobs is said to have kept the board for a long time in the garage where he co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak.

About 30 years ago, the circuit board was given away by the founder of Apple to the previous owner. Basically, the sign is something like the “Holy Grail” among Apple collectibles, at least according to the auctioneer. Apple is said to have used the prototype, among other things, to convince one of the first sales partners of the Apple-1, before later ordering the first 50 ready-made systems.

The Apple-I was the first computer that the then very young company of Jobs and Wozniak brought to the market. The model was discontinued in 1977 with the introduction of the Apple II, which played an even bigger part in the success of Jobs and the Apple company.