Apple-1 ‘Prototype Board #0’ system is expected to fetch $500,000+ at a 50th Anniversary auction — and the firm’s first ever check is valued at the same amount

Boston’s Rare and Remarkable Auctions has begun a blockbuster sale of 191 lots of historic Apple Computer artifacts. The Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction sale has kicked off, and will end on January 30. Among the star attractions under the hammer are an Apple-1 ‘Prototype Board #0,’ Apple’s first check, an Apple Computer registered 1989 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible, and several of Steve Jobs personally-owned treasures.

Apple-1 Computer Prototype Board #0

As per our headline, probably the most tempting purchase for retro vintage hardware enthusiasts would be lot 6003, the Apple-1 Computer Prototype Board #0. RR Auctions refers to this as “The ‘Celebration’ Board, Representing the Earliest Known Fiberglass Apple-1 Prototype.”

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This prototype is claimed to have been used by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak “to validate the Apple-1 design before entering into commercial production.” It is the first corrected PCB layout readied ahead of the famous first Byte Shop production run. The first 50 following machines produced for Paul Terrell’s Byte Shop order were based on this design.

As a validation prototype, the Apple-1 Prototype Board #0 includes several distinguishing features that set it apart. For example, it uses “wave-soldered Robinson-Nugent sockets instead of the cheaper Texas Instruments sockets used on production boards,” notes RR Auctions. It also has a different heatsink and a unique modification to diagnose RAM timings.

For the estimated $500,000+ hammer price, you won’t just get the aforementioned system PCB. That would be poor value. You also get a vintage, period-correct Key Tronic keyboard (c. 1977), a vintage, period-correct power supply, a vintage Sony TV, a replica Apple-1 Operation Manual, signed in blue felt tip by Steve Wozniak, and a replica Apple-1 schematic, signed in blue felt tip by Steve Wozniak.

Apple Computer Check No.1

Lot 6000 is a mere sliver of paper, but has the same auction estimate of “$500,000+.” It is a Wells Fargo check for $500, signed by Steve Jobs and Wozniak. This is the first-ever check made from Apple's first bank account. Tying in with the Apple-1 Prototype board, above, this check was to pay for the design of the Apple-1 PCB.

Apple Computer was officially incorporated as a business entity sixteen days after the date on this check. That would be on April Fool’s Day, 1976.

The RR Auctions Steve Jobs & the Computer Revolution: The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction sale is open to bids now, with the auction closing on January 30, which is just three weeks away.

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