Authenticity of “Apple Computer A” Up for Auction Called Into Question
Image via RR Auction
09 AUGUST 2022 - A surprising development around that busted Apple Computer A currently up for auction. You’ve heard me talk about this one for close to a month now. I’ve told you a few times the thing that’s most exciting about the machine is its provenance as the Apple computer that Steve Jobs used to sell The Byte Shop on the machine, putting Apple on the road to success.
Funny story: Turns out maybe not. A piece from Apple Insider says that identification has been called into question. The auction house RR Auction stands by the claim, and the assessment of Corey Cohen. Cohen is a board member of the Vintage Computer Federation. RR Auction call him a “world-renowned expert on Apple 1s,” and says the listing "is properly described. We guarantee it.”
But a report from Mercury News out of San Jose has Paul Terrell, owner of the Byte Shop, saying he thinks the board being sold is from “‘the first delivery’ of 50 computers, not a prototype.” If it was the prototype, it would have been soldered by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. Woz says his “hunch” is that it’s not the board Cohen and RR Auction think it is, though he doesn’t seem able to say for sure.
Not surprisingly, the added uncertainty has not moved the needle on the auction. Bidding still stands at just over $407k. I’m not sure how such things work, but I wonder now if it can actually stay that high.
