A check signed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs paying $4.01 to RadioShack is likely to fetch more than $25,000 at an auction that ends Wednesday. As part of RR Auction's "Fine Signatures and Artifacts Featuring Technology" sale, which will end on December 6, one of the items up for grabs is an extraordinary item from Apple's history.
The check from an Apple Computer account dates to July 23, 1976, and lists the company's first official address in Palo Alto. The check was payable to RadioShack Corporation for $4.01 and was signed by "Steven Jobs."
While it's unknown what the check paid for at RadioShack, it at least hints at the company and retailer's history.
Co-founder Steve Wozniak purchased a TRS-80 microcomputer system and used it to create a "blue box" for free long-distance calls. In the early days of Wozniak and Jobs' partnership, they built and sold about 200 blue boxes, each selling for about $150.
As of press time, after 21 bids, the auction price has reached US$22,444, with an estimated value of at least US$25,000. However, the transaction price may continue to rise and be higher than the estimated figure. A similar item was auctioned in May this year, when an Apple check signed by Jobs in July 1976 was also auctioned. However, the $175 check payable to Crampton, Remke, and Miller, Inc. eventually sold for $106,985.
Other items in the auction include a sealed first-generation iPhone and a signed replica of the Apple-1 circuit board.