A piece of computing history will be auctioned off this month as a rare Apple 1 computer motherboard is likely to fetch around $400,000 -- or 600 times the 1976 price of $666.66.
Bonhams in New York will offer the item in its first-ever History of Science auction on Oct. 22. The motherboard is believed to be one of the original 50 that Steve Wozniak assembled on order for Byte Shop's Paul Terrell; Wozniak built it in Steve Jobs' family garage, according to Bonhams.
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About 200 Apple 1 units were created, but only 63 were listed with Mike Willegas' Apple 1 Registry as of January 2014. Bonhams' Apple 1, which bears the inked number "01-0070," is slated to join the registry. It is also one of only 15 that are actually still working.
Bonhams is asking between $300,000 and $500,000 for the item. In 2010, another Apple 1 fetched $210,000 in an auction in London.
In addition to the Apple 1, the auction will also include an Apple European headquarters flag from 1996 for $1,500 to $2,500, an Olivetti microcomputer from 1971 ($2,000-$3,000) and a wood and brass synthesizer buildt by Hermann Von Halmholtz in 1905 for $20,000 to $30,000.
If you want to take part in the auction, contact Bonhams a week before the auction. Things are likely to get crazy after that.
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