Vanessa Murrey
An original Apple computer has fetched Sh44,760,000 from an auction in the US. The still functional Apple-1 device was built by Apple founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976.
It is just one among the original computers made of rare Hawaiian Koa wood sold in kit form. Included in the sale are user manuals and Apple software on two cassette tapes.
The Koa wood case was an addition of a pioneer computer retailer in the US, Byteshop, which facilitated delivery of about 50 of the Apple-1 machines.
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According to John Morgan Auctioneers in Carlifonia, the computer was originally owned by a college professor who later sold it to his student at $650.
“This is kind of the holy grail for vintage electronics and computer tech collectors,” an Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen said ahead of the auction.
“That really makes it exciting for a lot of people.”
The Apple-1 devices were originally sold for 666.66 in 1976 due to Wolziak’s affinity of repeating numbers.
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Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in April 1976.
Jobs sold his VW Microbus and Woznia sold his HP-65 calculator for $500 to help facilitate the production of Apple 1.
It is believed that at least 20 functioning original computers are still available.
In 2014, one of the Apple-1 devices was auctioned in New York fetching fetching $905,000, the highest amount ever for the vintage computer.
