Apple Computer Built By Steve Jobs Auctioned Tuesday

MONROVIA, CA — The "holy grail" of vintage tech was auctioned off Tuesday in California. The 45-year-old, original Apple-1 computer was hand built by Apple founders Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and several others in Jobs' home. It was expected to snag at least $500,000.

When the gavel fell at John Moran Auctioneer in Monrovia, the winning bid was $400,000.

The Apple Computer 1, was the first of its kind for the trillion-dollar company, setting the wheels in motion for future models that we now use today.

According to the auctioneer house, Jobs and his sister, along with Daniel Kottke built 200 of the Apple-1 computers beginning in 1976. Most were sold for $666.66, a figure that catered to Wozniak's love of repeating numbers.

The wooden case that houses the computer sold at auction is made from Koa wood. In the 1970s, Koa wood was abundant and easily accessible, especially on the west coast because it was native to Hawaii. However, due to cattle grazing and extensive logging, the Koa tree is now considered much rarer and more expensive. There are only six known examples of the Koa wood case in existence, and this unit is one of them.

This particular computer, dubbed the Chaffey College Apple-1, has only had two owners. According to John Moran Auctioneer, it was originally purchased by an electronics professor at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, who then sold it to his student in 1977.

It's recently undergone an extensive authentication, restoration, and evaluation process by one of the foremost experts in the field, who inspected all components and generated a full condition report for the Apple-1.

The computer still functions.