The most complete surviving example of the revolutionary personal computer to come up for auction, not only is it in working order, it is believed to be the only computer still in its original packaging.
If it does set a new record, it will be the third time in 12 months that Team Breker, the German auction house organizing the sale, will have made history. In November 2012 it successfully sold an Apple I for a then-record €491,868 ($630,000) and followed up the feat in May by breaking it again when a working Apple I went under the hammer for €516,461 ($671,400).
However, this time, bidding could reach even more frenzied levels as this example is still in its box. Number 46 is one of the initial 50 Apple I computers built by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs for the Byte Shop, the company's first client and, in terms of provenance, it doesn't get much better than a photograph of it, sacked with 49 other computers in Steve Jobs' bedroom.
The computer will go under the hammer in November in Cologne, and all signs point to another record-breaking lot.
{{/usCountry}}The computer will go under the hammer in November in Cologne, and all signs point to another record-breaking lot.
{{/usCountry}}Auction Team Breker has slapped a cautionary €250,000-€400,000 ($300,000-$500,000) estimate on the computer, but judging by the performance of other Apple I computers at auction over recent months, the final price, when the hammer comes down on November 16, could well be double.
Only 200 Apple I computers were ever made and only six surviving examples are believed to be in working order.