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Apple I computer, built in the seventies and now auctioned
Photo: Nikki Brickett / AP
An Apple computer from the early days of the company, signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak, sold at auction for more than $223,000 (approximately €206,000).
The Apple I has been restored to fully functional condition and will come with a bespoke case with a built-in keyboard, according to Boston-based auction house RR Auction, which closed the sale on Thursday.
About 200 pieces of the computers were manufactured from 1976 to 1977 in the garage of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in Los Altos, California. They helped found the company, which is now worth $3 trillion. Originally, the Apple I was sold for 666 dollars, the auction house expected around 200,000 dollars in advance.
Operational condition
The computer was signed "Woz" by Wozniak at an event at Bryant University in 2017.
It was bought second-hand at a computer fair in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1980 and used during the eighties. Earlier this year, it was brought into working condition by Apple expert Corey Cohen, according to the auction house.
The contract was awarded to a collector who wishes to remain anonymous, the auction house said.
Also at the auction, an original handwritten advertisement for the Apple I computer, written by Jobs, was sold for almost 176,000 US dollars (just under 163,000 euros).
kfr/AP