TLDR: it would be very hard, perhaps next to impossible to create one, and then you'd still have the issue how to convince people it's real, given that the existing ones are pretty well documented and accounted for.
Or just reproducing it and selling it on the basis that it works exactly the same way as the original...
I'm slightly mystified at the sums collectors items sell for. It seems intuitive to me that their prices should be some function of their inherent values, however that's calculated. It could even be many times that number but it should at least be tethered to reality.
Gotta be honest, if I saw this sitting next to a dumpster I'd probably think "what is this worthless circuitboard doing here." and then I'd take it to properly e-waste it only to later find out:
That literally happened: a woman dropped off computer junk at an e-waste facility in Milpitas in 2015. The facility found an Apple I in the stuff and sold it for $200,000. They tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with the woman to split the money.
> The story of an almost-destroyed Apple-1 found in a recycling center is a bit strange. There’s no proof it's true. No picture of the Apple-1 has been published, yet the company was in the news for a long time. After gaining so much attention, many people sent old computers to them. Numerous requests for a photo or info went unanswered. No Apple-1 expert or collector was ever contacted by the recycling company.
As far as I can tell, there's no public record of the sale, the buyer never came forward, and all the photos of the computer from news articles and stuff are stock images of other Apple 1s.
Man... tangentially, is there a coffee table book about Fry's yet? I remember in the dot com days they had a lounge pianist there as well as a cafeteria? And also, oddly, adult magazines by the check out lines.
I feel sad every time I think about Fry's and the death of big box electronics retail. I still long for those trips where I'd simply spend hours looking for what's new. Amazon can't deliver the same high and neither can Microcenter, the not-so-bad modern version.
I loved all the themed locations in Southern California, although the north-Orange county one, where the theme was just “aerospace” and all they really did was put a giant Space Shuttle model in the center (Burbank’s 50s sci-fi movie theme was, I think, the best of the lot).
A few years ago, I attended a test powering on of #41 'Frank Anderson' at the Polytechnic University of Turin. It was a truly exciting and interesting experience.
Yes. Details are in the Christie's auction listing linked above. Scroll down to read the very interesting article about the Apple 1 in general and specifics about this particular machine.
I love the ‘almost verified’ as a category. This just subtly hints to the human/cultural values behind it (documentation, restoration, preservation efforts), not only the hardware or as many comments here speculate on; its value in coins.
If you want an Apple I, there is one up for auction right now. Current bid is $109,919 but it will surely go for much more.
https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/35045050724601...
In March of this year, an Apple-1 sold on the same site for 375k usd
https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/34999140714600...
For that amount of money it’s incredible we aren’t seeing fakes…
I previously asked about how hard it would be to create a forgery and got a nice answer here:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29173562#29175946
TLDR: it would be very hard, perhaps next to impossible to create one, and then you'd still have the issue how to convince people it's real, given that the existing ones are pretty well documented and accounted for.
Or just reproducing it and selling it on the basis that it works exactly the same way as the original...
I'm slightly mystified at the sums collectors items sell for. It seems intuitive to me that their prices should be some function of their inherent values, however that's calculated. It could even be many times that number but it should at least be tethered to reality.
At this point they’re like art or exotic and rare cars - appreciating because of their historical impact.
Obviously the original Mona Lisa is worth a bit more than a good copy.
Gotta be honest, if I saw this sitting next to a dumpster I'd probably think "what is this worthless circuitboard doing here." and then I'd take it to properly e-waste it only to later find out:
"That was worth how much!?"
That literally happened: a woman dropped off computer junk at an e-waste facility in Milpitas in 2015. The facility found an Apple I in the stuff and sold it for $200,000. They tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with the woman to split the money.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19665632
The Apple 1 registry site says that it was likely a marketing stunt by the e-waste facility (https://www.apple1registry.com/en/theapple1.html):
> The story of an almost-destroyed Apple-1 found in a recycling center is a bit strange. There’s no proof it's true. No picture of the Apple-1 has been published, yet the company was in the news for a long time. After gaining so much attention, many people sent old computers to them. Numerous requests for a photo or info went unanswered. No Apple-1 expert or collector was ever contacted by the recycling company.
As far as I can tell, there's no public record of the sale, the buyer never came forward, and all the photos of the computer from news articles and stuff are stock images of other Apple 1s.
How much is it worth? I couldn't find any prices on the page.
If you click on one that says '$ [date]' instead of '$ no auction' then it will say. E.g. August 2022 for $677k: https://www.apple1registry.com/en/2.html
Ahh I didn't realize, thanks!
Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Sadly, this registry might be out of date again: entry #43 indicates it is from the now-dismantled Living Computer Museum + Labs.
https://www.apple1registry.com/en/43.html
Indeed. It sold at auction for $352,800
https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/firsts-history-computing-...
One of them is owned ("almost verified") by Jean-Louis Gassée, former Apple exec, who went on to found Be Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Gass%C3%A9e
What an amazing labor of love to catalog all these machines. Some of the stories behind each individual machine are amazing.
I remember when Fry's Electronics (was it Palo Alto or Sunnyvale?) had one on display.
Man... tangentially, is there a coffee table book about Fry's yet? I remember in the dot com days they had a lounge pianist there as well as a cafeteria? And also, oddly, adult magazines by the check out lines.
I feel sad every time I think about Fry's and the death of big box electronics retail. I still long for those trips where I'd simply spend hours looking for what's new. Amazon can't deliver the same high and neither can Microcenter, the not-so-bad modern version.
Don't get me even started about Radio Shack :'(
The one in Austin (piano themed) met a sad end.
Part of their old space is now being redeveloped for a MicroCenter.
I loved all the themed locations in Southern California, although the north-Orange county one, where the theme was just “aerospace” and all they really did was put a giant Space Shuttle model in the center (Burbank’s 50s sci-fi movie theme was, I think, the best of the lot).
Would love a coffee table book of Fry's. The themes alone would make good viewing!
There was a cafeteria as recently as 2018
The Iron Horse cafe! Surprisingly good sandwiches back in the day.
Iron Tail Cafe iirc
Of the 92 “verified and almost verified” Apple I computers in this registry, 67 are confirmed to be in working condition.
I'm not sure why, but I vaguely expected Woz to have at least one
A few years ago, I attended a test powering on of #41 'Frank Anderson' at the Polytechnic University of Turin. It was a truly exciting and interesting experience.
Why is “computer” not pluralised in the page title?
I thought it was a mistake in the post; but it’s the same on the page.
perhaps a German=>English phrasing thing? the editor of that site is German.
https://www.apple1registry.com/en/contact.html
Frankly I'll take it over artificially sandblasted translation via someGPT.
I don't see prices of previous auctions. What do these go for roughly?
One went for $440K in 2022 [1], and one that was an Apple owned unit that came from the "office of Steve Jobs" went for $945K last year [2].
1. https://www.macrumors.com/2022/12/16/apple-1-sells-for-440k/
2. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6495022
Crazy that Apple sold this.
Seems like it belonged to an Apple employee who passed away.
Yes. Details are in the Christie's auction listing linked above. Scroll down to read the very interesting article about the Apple 1 in general and specifics about this particular machine.
Looks like it came from the Living Computer Museum.[0]
[0] https://www.geekwire.com/2017/important-computer-history-ste...
I love the ‘almost verified’ as a category. This just subtly hints to the human/cultural values behind it (documentation, restoration, preservation efforts), not only the hardware or as many comments here speculate on; its value in coins.