Abstract:
A rare Apple I computer is being auctioned online at Bonhams Auction House.
The bidding period is open from October 4 to 14, with an estimated price of US$500,000 to US$800,000 (approximately RMB 3.59 million to 5.39 million yuan).
The computer, known as the Hatfield Apple 1, was purchased by its original owner, Fred Hatfield, in 1976. The motherboard bears the autograph of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and is still in working condition.
The auction also included a letter signed by Steve Jobs on January 18, 1978, in which Jobs proposed that Hatfield pay $400 to return the Apple One in exchange for an Apple II motherboard.
But Hatfield rejected the deal, and it was this "rejection" that allowed the computer to be preserved intact to this day.
It is reported that Apple One is Apple’s first product, which was born in 1976. At that time, Jobs and Wozniak persuaded Paul Terrell, the owner of the electronics retailer Byte Shop, to purchase 50 assembled circuit boards, thus officially establishing Apple Computer Company.
Apple One is sold as a bare board, excluding chassis, power supply, keyboard and display. It is equipped with a MOS 6502 processor, clocked at 1MHz, and comes standard with 4KB memory (expandable to 8KB or 48KB). The original selling price is US$666.66.
Regarding this slightly "devil number" pricing, one theory is that Wozniak likes to repeat numbers, and another theory is that the wholesale price is $500 plus about one-third of the profit.
A total of about 200 Apple Ones were produced, but many were discarded or damaged over time. Currently, less than 75 units are confirmed to exist in the world.
In recent years, Apple One has repeatedly achieved high prices in the auction market. In 2014, one unit was sold for US$905,000, and in March 2025, another unit was sold for US$375,000.
The "Hatfield" version in this auction is regarded by the auction house as one of the best-quality Apple Ones in recent years because it has Wozniak's signature, Jobs's autograph letter, and is in working condition.
From US$666 to the highest estimated value of US$800,000, the value has increased approximately 1,200 times in 50 years. It can be called a financial management tool. The computer was on public display in Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and New York before the auction.
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