A rare functional example of Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, is for sale on eBay, and the seller is asking for a cool $ 1.5 million for the privilege of owning a piece of technological history.
According to the description of the article, the first seen by IGN, the model was originally verified by Corey Cohen, an Apple 1 expert whose knowledge is often sought for review at larger auctions.
Known as the “Canadian” in Mike Willegal’s Apple-1 registry, the example on eBay is one of six well-known surviving units housed in an original KOA box from Byte Shop. It comes with an original power supply and a Datanetics version D keyboard, as well as a period-correct Sony TV-115 monitor with video modulator.
The Apple 1 board, according to the seller, is unchanged and in an “almost perfect” condition. It is also one of the few remaining units that are fully operational, a proof that it ran more than six hours a day while on display at the Vintage Computer Festival West in 2019.
Current owner Krishna B. Blake bought the Apple 1 from its original owner in 1978 as part of a swap deal for a newer Apple II. Blake’s computer store in Montreal was responsible for Apple II maintenance before Apple entered Canada.
Despite its pedigree and current status, the Apple 1 for sale via eBay may not be able to fetch the $ 1.5 million asking price from Blake. Other examples came close to the $ 1 million barrier, the closest being a $ 905,000 sale in 2014, but recent auctions have drawn bids below $ 500,000.
A total of 200 Apple 1 computers were manufactured, each hand-built by co-founder Steve Wozniak, in the Steve Jobs garage in Los Altos, California. When the product was first released in 1976, it sold for $ 666.66 without power supply, screen, keyboard or housing.