Rare Apple-1 Sells for $375,000 on Invaluable

Computer offered by RR Auction is one of only 16 known fully-functioning Apple-1 units of original 200 built by Steve Jobs and Steve “Woz” Wozniak

BOSTON--()--A rare Apple-1 computer, a piece of technology history that helped spark the personal computer revolution, was sold today by RR Auction on Invaluable for $375,000.

“It is absolutely wonderful and totally fitting that this iconic computer that ushered in a new era in technology more than 40 years ago sold on Invaluable, which is driving a new technology era in the auction business,” said Invaluable CEO Rob Weisberg.

“The sale shows the confidence collectors have in buying art, antiques and collectibles in a live auction online. We couldn’t be more excited,” added Weisberg.

Bidding on the Apple-1 was waged online and via telephone, with one Invaluable bidder winning after a tense back-and-forth of seven bids. The price includes a buyer’s premium.

The Apple-1 – one of the first personal computers in the world - is one of only 60-70 remaining of the original 200 produced by Steve Jobs and Steve “Woz” Wozniak at the fledgling Apple Computer Co. in Palo Alto, CA in 1976 – and one of only 16 that are known to be fully functioning. It was sold during RR Auction’s “Remarkable Rarities” sale, held at WeWorks, 200 Portland St., Boston. Online bidding was available exclusively on Invaluable.com.

Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President at RR Auction, said, “Selling an Apple-1 was really remarkable – the bidding was tense and thrilling. We’re very pleased for our consigner and for the winning bidder, who is a businessman in the United States.”

The consigner of the Apple-1 purchased it for $300 from the original owner, a co-worker who bought it at The Byte Shop, said Livingston. He began learning BASIC and writing small programs and even after outgrowing the system, held on to it, realizing it could one day be a piece of computing history. In 1982, he attempted to sell his Apple-1 to Wozniak for $10,000 – an offer that, fortunately for him, went unanswered, said Livingston.

Corey Cohen, a computer historian and Apple-1 expert who documented the authenticity of this unit, said, “This Apple-1 board is one of the few known operational units that has never been modified or had circuit traces cut then repaired. This Apple-1 even includes the original keyboard used by the current owner back in the 1970’s.”

In advance of the sale, the Apple-1 was scanned at Invaluable with technology created by Artmyn, a Swiss company revolutionizing how art is experienced, promoted and secured online. The scan revealed the Apple-1’s unique digital “DNA” as it headed to auction. Here is a video of an initial scan.

The scanning at Invaluable highlights an exclusive global partnership between Invaluable and Artmyn aimed at improving the online buying experience and increasing transparency and buyer confidence in the online art market. Under the partnership, Invaluable will offer auction houses exclusively on its marketplace free access to Artmyn’s scanning technology.

Artmyn co-founder and CEO Alexandre Catsicas said, “The scan of the Apple-1 allows you to ‘touch with your eyes’ and experience and interact with its digital twin as if the original was in your own hands.”

For more information on Invaluable, to view upcoming auctions and shop from galleries and dealers, please visit www.Invaluable.com.

About Invaluable

Invaluable is the world’s leading online marketplace for buying fine art, antiques and collectibles. Working with more than 5,000 of the world’s premier auction houses, dealers and galleries, Invaluable helps buyers from nearly 200 countries connect with the things they love. With best-in-class online bidding technology, along with a fixed-price retail platform, Invaluable provides sellers with e-commerce and marketing solutions, as well as auction management software. Recently called “one of the fastest growing e-commerce sites in the art world” by Blouin ArtInfo, Invaluable has also been recognized by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ and the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® program in both 2015 and 2016. Headquartered in Boston, Invaluable also has offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia. For more information, visit www.invaluable.com or follow us on Twitter at @InvaluableLive.

About RR Auction

Headquartered in Boston’s North End, RR Auction is a globally recognized and trusted source for rare documents, manuscripts, autographs and historic artifacts. Since its inception in 1980, RR has achieved countless record-setting prices in over 425 successful sales, including Truman Capote’s hand-notated manuscript for Breakfast at Tiffany’s for over $300,000, President Kennedy’s 1963 convertible for $318,000, and a pair of Bonnie and Clyde’s guns for over $500,000. Internationally known and frequently featured in all media outlets—with appearances on NBC’s Today Show, CBS This Morning, Fox News, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and the London Times—RR Auction prides itself on selling authentic material, thoroughly examined by in-house experts and third-party authenticators, to uphold the guarantee of authenticity. With a stunning full-color print catalog and a massive online presence, RR Auction’s nearly four decades of business continue to grow, achieving record prices for clients around the world.

About Artmyn

Born at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, ARTMYN develops sophisticated technological tools that revolutionize the way Art is experienced, promoted and secured on screen. Thanks to its new generation of scanners and algorithms, Artmyn’s technology extracts the unique features of an artwork - its “DNA” – under different light sources, including ultra-violet light. This proprietary technology generates interactive 5D images and movies accessible from any mobile device, as well as unfalsifiable digital fingerprints. When acquiring these features unique to each artwork, a first scan will create a fingerprint allowing for any damage or modification to be automatically detected during subsequent scans, hence easing the authentication process. Headquartered in Lausanne, Artmyn also provides a scanning center under free-trade zone at the Geneva Freeport in Switzerland. For more information, visit www.artmyn.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @artmyn.official.

Contacts

Invaluable
Andrew Gully, 978-886-3200
agully@invaluable.com
or
RR Auction
Mike Graff, 203-807-2575
mgraff@mpg-pr.com
or
Artmyn
Alexandre Catsicas, +41793543248
a.catsicas@artmyn.com

Release Summary

Rare Apple-1 Sells for $375,000 on Invaluable

Contacts

Invaluable
Andrew Gully, 978-886-3200
agully@invaluable.com
or
RR Auction
Mike Graff, 203-807-2575
mgraff@mpg-pr.com
or
Artmyn
Alexandre Catsicas, +41793543248
a.catsicas@artmyn.com