Apple-1 computer complete with Wozniak signature and unique letter from Jobs sells for $1.15M

An exceptionally rare, very old and fully-functional Apple computer recently sold at auction for $1.15 million, a world record for a commercially released Apple-1.

The Apple-1, which was the very first product in the Silicon Valley-based tech giant’s history, had a competitive, 28-minute bidding war between two people.

“We are delighted with this exceptional result for the ‘Hatfield’ Apple-1, one of the most important milestones in computing history,” said Ian Ehling, a director at Bonhams, an international auction house. “It was an honor to offer Apple’s first product during the company’s 50th anniversary year.”

This specific Apple-1 is special, as it has the clear signature of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak on its motherboard, which is still fully functional. Wozniak created the Apple-1 product himself in 1976, while his more famous co-founder Steve Jobs marketed it.

In addition to the motherboard, the auction also included a 1978 letter signed by Jobs to the computer’s original owner, Fred Hatfield, offering a trade-in upgrade to the newly released Apple II. There was also the original operations manual, a typed invitation to the “Apple I Owners Club,” and several hardware components.

According to Bonhams, this item is listed as No. 48 on the Apple-1 Registry, making it one of fewer than 75 verified Apple-1 computers known to survive.

The sold machine is a testament to the humble origins of a company that only last year topped $4 trillion in market value, fueled by robust demand for its latest iPhone models that have revolutionized the tech industry and everyday life.

Back then, Jobs met Wozniak in the 1970s through a mutual friend.  The two would go often to the Homebrew Computer Club meetings in Palo Alto to discuss personal computing, a new idea at the time. With money from selling Jobs’ Volkswagen, the two started building computers in Jobs’ parents’ garage.

They eventually create the Apple-1. Byte Shop, one of the world’s first computer retailers in Mountain View, placed an order for 50 at $500 each after seeing the prototype in Jobs’ garage.

The rest is history.

In later remarks, Wozniak described how the Apple-1 came to be.

“I typed a few keys on the keyboard and I was shocked!” he recalled in his memoir, iWoz.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but that day, Sunday, June 29, 1975, was pivotal. It was the first time in history anyone had typed a character on a keyboard and seen it show up on the screen right in front of them.”

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