Steve Jobs’ Apple-1 Prototype PCB Goes up for Auction

Over the past year there have been some rare vintage Apple products up on the auction block. Most were semi-complete systems though, and part of the original batch of PCs sold by the Byte Shop in Mountain View. Now the printed circuit board (PCB) made by Steve Jobs to procure that original order of computers in 1976 is up for auction. It’s labeled “Apple Computer A” and was hand-soldered by The Woz himself. It’s expected to fetch at least $500,000 when the auction ends in August.

The “computer” is a simple PCB, and was used to demonstrate the functionality of the Apple-1 Computer. The demo was given to Paul Terrell, who was the owner of The Byte Shop. This was one of the world’s first computer stores. What Jobs and Woz had figured was a $40 hobbyist kit was then transformed into a full-blown personal computer. Terrell placed the company’s first order for 50 PCs, and each was sold for $666.66. “That was the biggest single episode in all of the company’s history. Nothing in subsequent years was so great and so unexpected,” said Woz of the Byte Shop order.

This particular board is rare enough to be labeled as #2 in the Apple-1 Registry. It had originally remained in the “Apple Garage” for years before Jobs gave it to the current owner over 30 years ago. It was considered “lost” until recently. However, it has been examined and authenticated this year by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen. The present condition of the board leaves a lot to be desired, sadly. It has a huge chunk missing, and it’s likely lost forever. Also, some of the ICs along with the microprocessor have been removed. The auction site says Jobs likely repurposed some of the missing parts for the first Apple-1 computers.

:story: ExtremeTech