Original Apple Computer Goes to Auction Block

An Apple-1 computer, a foundational part of the history of Apple and the PC is going to auction, The Associated Press reports. Boston's RR Auction is expecting the hardware to go for as much as $300,000 at auction, if not more. In 1976 it sold for $666.

Perhaps what's most remarkable is that the machine is fully functional and was restored by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen. According to the auction house, it was run "without fault for approximately eight hours in a comprehensive test."

The set that is up for auction includes the Apple-1 board, an Apple Casette Interface (ACI), an operation manual, two ACI manuals, a "period surplus ASCII keyboard," a "period 'open frame' Sanyo 4205 video monitor," as well as "a new period-style power supply with original Apple-1 power cable and connector" and cassette interface cables.

The Apple-1 board was originally intended to be sold to hobbyists, many of whom modded their hardware. This piece is notable in that, according to the auction house, "this unit has not had any modifications to the physical board, and the prototype area is clean and unused."

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak produced just 200 Apple-1 computers and sold 175 of them in 1976 and 1977. Paleofuture suggests only 60 are expected to still be in circulation.

Pre-bidding starts on September 13, and live bidding begins on September 25 at 1 p.m. ET. Hopefully, the winner will keep this piece of history working and available to hobbyists and researchers.