A rare functional example of Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, is on sale on eBay, with its seller asking for $ 1.5 million for the privilege of owning a piece of technology history.
According to the item description, first identified by IGN, the model is verified as original by Corey Cohen, an Apple specialist 1 whose knowledge is often sought for evaluations at larger auctions.
Known as the “Canadian” in Mike Willegal’s Apple-1 record, the example on eBay is one of six known surviving units housed in an original Byte Shop KOA wooden box. It comes with an original power supply and Datanetics Version D keyboard, as well as a Sony TV-115 monitor with period correction and video modulator.
The Apple 1 card has not been modified and is in “almost perfect” condition, according to the seller. It is also one of the few remaining units to be fully operational, a proven point when it ran for more than six hours a day, while it was showing at the Vintage Computer Festival West in 2019.
Current owner Krishna B. Blake purchased the Apple 1 in 1978 from its original owner as part of an exchange agreement for a more recent Apple II. Blake’s computer store in Montreal was responsible for maintaining the Apple II before Apple entered Canada.
Despite its pedigree and current status, the Apple 1 for sale on eBay may not yield Blake’s asking price of $ 1.5 million. Other examples came close to the $ 1 million barrier, the closest being a 2014 sale worth $ 905,000, but the most recent auctions generated bids below $ 500,000.
A total of 200 Apple 1 computers were made, each hand-built by company co-founder Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs’ garage in Los Altos, California. When the product first launched in 1976, it sold for $ 666.66 without a power supply, screen, keyboard or housing.