Apple1 prototype

[woofy]

There's half of an Apple 1 prototype board for auction here:
https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345735106445006-steve-jobs-39-s-apple-1-computer-prototype/?cat=0
Current bid is over $400k.

[woofy]

And a video here:
https://youtu.be/jajuk4S_GZg

[rsjsouza]

From time to time such prototypes show up at astounding prices (I recall a couple of threads around here that talk about that).

I never knew if one of these were actually sold for their prices, but surely the hype is enough to take it far out of reach for most people's wallets.

[pcprogrammer]

Well if things like this https://news.artnet.com/market/maurizio-cattelan-banana-art-basel-miami-beach-1722516 sell for 120000 dollar then why not an old piece of history for so much money.

Personally I find it idiotic but that is me

[SiliconWizard]

Yeah, Apple I prototypes are commonly around $1 million dollars or so.

Provided that they could prove authenticity, why not. I personally would certainly not buy that, but are they worth this price? In some way, absolutely, if you consider how seminal those were and their historical value.

[james_s]

I will be curious to see what happens to the value of things like this once everyone who is old enough to have been around in the early PC era has died off. I have some nostalgia for the early Apple stuff and still have a IIe, but I would not want a damaged Apple I board even if it was free.

[TimFox]

I will be curious to see what happens to the value of things like this once everyone who is old enough to have been around in the early PC era has died off. I have some nostalgia for the early Apple stuff and still have a IIe, but I would not want a damaged Apple I board even if it was free.

Ford Model T vehicles produced from 1909 to 1927 have sold for as much $110,000 in the last five years, according to Classic.com. Over that period of time, Model Ts have sold for an average of $16,093. The lowest during that time sold for $3,300.  Most people from 1909 have died by now.

[Bud]

Steve Jobs's original "Apple Computer A" prototype

Steve Job's?  This is an insult to Woz's engineering talent.

And why authenticity of the artefact was established with some "expert" 13 page report? They could just ask Woz.

[SiliconWizard]

Steve Jobs's original "Apple Computer A" prototype

Steve Job's?  This is an insult to Woz's engineering talent.

And why authenticity of the artefact was established with some "expert" 13 page report? They could just ask Woz.

Yeah. I'd really be wary of anything like that unless it was certified by Woz himself.

[Bud]

... it appears to have been hand-soldered by Steve Wozniak, whose unusual 'three handed' technique—wire in one hand, soldering iron in the other, and solder held in his mouth

By all of the lead-free mafia accounts Woz should have been dead by now.

[james_s]

I will be curious to see what happens to the value of things like this once everyone who is old enough to have been around in the early PC era has died off. I have some nostalgia for the early Apple stuff and still have a IIe, but I would not want a damaged Apple I board even if it was free.

Ford Model T vehicles produced from 1909 to 1927 have sold for as much $110,000 in the last five years, according to Classic.com. Over that period of time, Model Ts have sold for an average of $16,093. The lowest during that time sold for $3,300.  Most people from 1909 have died by now.

It would be interesting to see what $110k buys you vs what $16k does. While I recognize the historical significance of the Model T, I personally have no interest in owning one, much like the Apple I they are just too primitive. By the 1940s cars were refined enough to be pretty usable in modern times.

[james_s]

Steve Jobs's original "Apple Computer A" prototype

Steve Job's?  This is an insult to Woz's engineering talent.

And why authenticity of the artefact was established with some "expert" 13 page report? They could just ask Woz.

Woz was obviously the superior engineer, but I think without Jobs the Apple would have never been more than a footnote in the history of the PC. Woz probably would have sold a few dozen of them to other enthusiasts before getting bored and moving on to other projects. Jobs excelled at being a salesman.

[floobydust]

There's half of an Apple 1 prototype board for auction here:
https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345735106445006-steve-jobs-39-s-apple-1-computer-prototype/?cat=0
Current bid is over $400k.

Uh the PC board is broken in two... missing Vregs and most of the IC's. Total garbage auction IMHO.

P.S. the complete Apple I on eBay is still asking $1,500,000 and I think it's been up for a few years now. The guy will not insure shipping it.

[james_s]

P.S. the complete Apple I on eBay is still asking $1,500,000 and I think it's been up for a few years now. The guy will not insure shipping it.

I don't blame him. Is anyone going to spend $1.5M on something and then have it shipped UPS? I would expect they'd either fly out and pick it up personally, or arrange for a specialized transport service that handles high value items. I have doubts that it will ever sell for that price but who knows.

[SiliconWizard]

P.S. the complete Apple I on eBay is still asking $1,500,000 and I think it's been up for a few years now. The guy will not insure shipping it.

I don't blame him. Is anyone going to spend $1.5M on something and then have it shipped UPS? I would expect they'd either fly out and pick it up personally, or arrange for a specialized transport service that handles high value items. I have doubts that it will ever sell for that price but who knows.

Yeah, I don't get the point of selling that on eBay anyway. People willing to buy auction items that expensive will not buy them on eBay. There are much more dependable auction services for that kind of items, with all insurances required, qualified experts, appropriate shipping services, etc. You'd be a complete dumbass to buy that off eBay.

[floobydust]

There is fine art for sale on eBay, but with the way people scam nowadays I'd use a real auction house and pay their fees.

"Images of the prototype show a long crack down the right side of the circuit board and indications of Wozniak's 'three-handed' soldering technique evidenced "in the tight 'bubbles' formed at the soldered connections" according to RR Auction."
What is this three-handed soldering? I use one hand for the iron, other holds the wire and any spare fingers hold the solder. I never get "bubbles" - just burnt fingers

Oldest IC datecode 7618 so around May '76 not sure when the prototype was shown to get the first 50pcs order.

[AndyBeez]

Provenance. Unless that PCB has a certificate of authenticity CoA witnessed by Woz or Apple - maybe echoed as a smart contract on the blockchain - it's just another busted PCB from the 1970s (plenty of these pictured on this forum). Without immutable provenance, I would value the incomplete artefact in the $1500-$2000 range. About the same as a fully functional first version CBM Pet or Pacman machine.

A collector has no interest in what it is but, what it will be worth in 10, 20, 50 year's time? Especially if they are a private equity fund investor. The value is the history, the story, the importance, the provenance. And the only expert appraiser is the soldersucking man himself.

Buyer beware.

[oPossum]

Hmmm

[macboy]

Perfect match!

[ebastler]

Beautiful picture by TubeTime. 
But clearly a fake, since it does not have the legendary orange capacitors. 

[AndyBeez]

Hmmm

I have to ask, if that is the missing piece, did the parts stay on the board, or did they end up on that duck billed pcb? That shard would be worth $80K?

[woofy]

If that's a fake, its well beyond my photo-shopping abilities.
Looks a good match to me.

[ebastler]

If that's a fake, its well beyond my photo-shopping abilities.
Looks a good match to me.

Of course it's fake. At least it is highly unlikely that Eric Schlaepfer (TubeTime) just happened to come across the broken-off piece on last week's computer swap market... But very nice Photoshop work indeed, and a strategically placed other PCB across the difficult-to-get-right area of the fracture.   

Edit: Eric's original post is here, https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1556804778759684097

[woofy]

Ah, ok then, I hadn't seen that twitter post (don't use twitter).
Dam good photo editing though.

[floobydust]

Blue Sprague 39D electrolytics having date code back to late 1974 in Apple1  https://rlvintage.tech/5300uf.html
edit: Sprague Electronic Components Catalog 1980

[ebastler]

Sure, but apparently the prototype used a different type of capacitor. There are some old Polaroid photos floating around the internet which show the prototype with orange caps. The text of the auction linked above also stresses that fact. (Funny, since the fragment they sell obviously excludes any caps, whether blue or orange...)

[Phil_G]

The missing piece pic is a very well executed & timely prank, like Piltdown man... lets just enjoy it for what it is!   

[floobydust]

Auction ends next Thursday Aug. 18 19:30? EDT
I wonder if that proto board even worked? The only time you bust a board in two is out of frustration that it doesn't work, it can't work.
Or Motorola burned them with over 6800 price and availability.

[Bud]

The missing piece pic is a very well executed & timely prank, like Piltdown man... lets just enjoy it for what it is!   

It looks out of place on the bench. It would be more convincing if the bench had  entourage applicable to the era.

[woofy]

Sold for $541,757

[floobydust]

RR Auction webpage says "Sold For:  $677,196  (*Includes Buyers Premium)"

[woofy]

25% Buyers Premium, ouch!

[AndyBeez]

  There's taking the p*ss and there's buyer's premium. BP is often PLUS local sales tax too.

So how easy would it be to manufacture a deep fake Apple 1 PCB? And you don't even need the components, just a load of empty DIL sockets.

[SiliconWizard]

Ahah, the thing is not even intact, it's badly broken. Some people definitely have too much money on their hands.

[floobydust]

Well, I was thinking if Wozniak sold his gonch - what would it be worth? 

[AndyBeez]

Ahah, the thing is not even intact, it's badly broken. Some people definitely have too much money on their hands.

Yep. I wonder it they want to sell the NFT for the missing bit?

[floobydust]

I don't think the board worked - are there any Apple I's running the MC6800?