First Apple computer fetches $387,000 at auction

The photo shows an “Apple 1” prototype computer, built in 1976, accompanied by an operation manual and schematic as well as a photo of its inventors, Steve Wozniak, left, and Steve Jobs. Photo:AP

The first original Apple computer hand-built and signed by the company co-founder Steve Wozniak has sold for more than $387,000 in an online auction.

The Apple 1, one of roughly 200 made by the fledgling Apple Computer Company in 1976, was bought by an unknown buyer at Christie’s auction house.

The computer was designed and built by the American inventor, Wozniak, in Palo Alto, California.

Steve Jobs came up with the idea of selling it and the pair went on to find Apple

The original device comprised a single motherboard mounted on a wooden base, but was without a keyboard, a transformer or a display.

Though the device never took off, it was the precursor to Apple’s breakthrough product — the Apple II, a machine that looks far more like today’s desktop PCs and considered one of the most revolutionary computers ever created.

The Apple 1 sold at the auction, is believed to be among the first 25 produced. It was inscribed with the serial number 01-0025 in black ink.

Wozniak signed the computer work “Woz”, the nickname that his friends and fans continue to call him. The date code on its processor is “1576,” suggesting the chip was manufactured in the 15th week of 1976.

An Apple 1 was sold at an auction in Cologne, Germany last month, for USD 671,400, breaking all previous records for sales of a personal computer.