This auction is selling a treasure trove of vintage Apple tech

Fast Company

2 days ago

For hardcore retro-tech fans and Steve Jobs groupies, a treasure trove of vintage Apple devices, ultraexclusive memorabilia, and forgotten tech has just been collected into one website—and it's all for sale.
The collection of items, titled ' Steve Jobs and the Apple Revolution,' is currently being sold by RR Auction, and will remain live until August 21. It's one of the company's 12 annual speciality auctions, which focus on specific subjects like space exploration, the Olympics, and animation.
'Created over a decade ago, this signature auction tells Apple's full arc—from garage-built Apple-1 to world-changing innovations,' says Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at the Boston-based auction house. 'We source directly from early engineers, employees, and elite collectors, often bringing items to market for the first time. It's Apple's history told through the objects that made it possible.'
From Apple-1 to the iPod
RR Auction's Apple collection, though, is composed of true vintage items, some of which are one of a kind. A particular highlight is the fully functional Apple-1 computer —the first Apple device ever built—signed by cocreator Steve Wozniak and early Apple employee Daniel Kottke. According to an analysis by eBay, only about 200 Apple-1 devices were ever built, with just 82 believed to still exist. In 2022, eBay sold an Apple-1 for $340,100 at auction.
Livingston points to one specific check in the collection, signed on March 28, 1976, as another standout object: ' Check No. 6 —written four days before Apple's founding, signed 'steven jobs,' listing all three cofounders—reads like Apple's birth certificate,' he says.
Other items of note include a rare Lisa computer, released in January 1983, with its custom 'Twiggy' floppy drives intact; a prototype iPod with a red logic board; a factory-sealed 4GB iPhone; and an assortment of vintage Apple-branded merch. 'Together, they track Apple's evolution from startup to giant,' Livingston says.
So far, Livingston adds, interest in the collection has been 'extraordinary,' ranging from veteran collectors to first-time bidders. With more than a week left for incoming bids, the Apple-1 computer has already surpassed the $100,000 threshold, while many other items have top bids in the tens of thousands.
'These aren't just nostalgic artifacts; they're cultural touchstones,' Livingston says. 'The strongest interest comes from seasoned tech collectors and younger successful entrepreneurs who see these as physical chapters of a story still shaping the world.'
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