Rare but nonfunctional Apple I goes to auction in London
updated 05:32 pm EDT, Wed August 29, 2012
Expected to fetch more than $125,000
A nonworking Apple I board have been listed for auction on October 9 at Christie's of London. The unit, with serial number 22, came from former Apple employee Joe Copson. The unit originally came with just 8K of RAM and no case, keyboard or monitor. Only 50 or so of the roughly 150-200 units produced have survived, and only six are thought to be in working order. The auction expects the machine to sell for between $80,000 and $125,000.
One of the working units was auctioned off in June and fetched $375,000, double its initial estimate. At the same auction, some of Apple's founding documents were sold for $1.6 million.
The Apple I board original sold for $666.66 in 1976. Despite the status of this unit as nonfunctional, the auction is expected to garner worldwide attention from museums and private collectors. The unit on offer this time may be the same one Copson tried to sell on Ebay a year ago, asking $179,000 before withdrawing it.
