Rare wooden-cased Apple-1 computer blasts past auctioneer estimate — sells for almost half a million dollars

A very rare Apple-1 computer sold for a significant amount more than the auctioneer's estimate in Boston this weekend. Last week, we reported on the rare Byte Shop wooden case Apple-1’s impending auction. At the time, it had scaled to $144,311 in pre-live bidding, with an estimate of $300,000. On Saturday, RR Auctions achieved a sale of $475,000 (w/BP) for its client. That’s nearly 60% better than expected.

Ahead of the auction day (Saturday), RR Auctions shared an interesting video showing this Apple-1 in action, which might have helped propel sales.

Above you can see this Byte Shop wooden cased computer, thought to be just one of just nine surviving examples (from 50 made), being used for coding and executing programs. In the brief clip, you can see the cassette interface, keyboard, and Apple Basic being used. The hands-on demonstration ends with the ‘Apple the 30^th ASCII Demo’ running, with text-based imagery of Jobs, Wozniak, and the Apple logo output to the included monitor.

How did this example achieve such a price?

There were a number of factors in this sample’s favor that allowed it to significantly leapfrog the estimate. Above, we mentioned that it is a 1-in-9 rare surviving sample. It is also remarkably complete – check our previous article for a list of what was included in this auction.

Beyond the vintage physical computer equipment, this machine also had some extra provenance. It is known as the ‘Moore Apple-1’, which is “a complete and working setup owned by the first female graduate of Stanford Law School, June Blodgett Moore."

Technology artifacts, especially those closely associated with Apple, are still hot property. There will have been plenty of enthusiasts and collectors with their eye on this, and many will have abundant disposable income.

The auction of the 'Steven Jobs' signed Apple Computer Company check also ended on Saturday. Encapsulated and graded as a ‘Mint 9’, it was expected to fetch $25,000. However, it was already almost that price in pre-live bidding. On the day, it ended up going for $46,250 (w/BP).

Big premiums

RR Auctions' final prices include a ‘Buyer’s Premium’ (BP) of 25%. Given this, we can assume the hammer price at the conclusion of the Apple-1 auction was $380,000, and $95,000 was added to the settlement for the BP, to give the $475,000 (w/BP) total. That’s quite a nice fee for the auctioneers, and comes with the territory for collectors who want to get their hands on computing relics in this manner.

The Steve Jobs check, which sold for $46,250 (w/BP), will have reached an auction hammer price of $37,000.

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