Apple Computer Check Signed by Steve Jobs Sells for $46,000

$4.01 in 1976 is equivalent to $193,921.82 in today’s money, so not a great deal.

No. Back then, when the recipient of a check deposited it, the check went through the clearing process. The bank where it was deposited processed it, then it went to a clearinghouse, then to the bank the check was issued from. The funds were transferred through this process, then the original check was returned to the entity who wrote it, in this case it would be the accounting department at Apple.

So someone at Apple got a hold of it at some point, and eventually it made its way to auction.

These days it works differently, where checks are deposited via EFT and never have to leave the hands of whoever received the payment. But back then, every check you wrote would come back to you. (or your company)

And at the end of the month, spouses would sit at the kitchen table and go through them one by one to balance the checkbook and argue about who was spending too much money 🤣

How do you get $193,921? Inflation calculator says about $22.

He was joking.

Circuits aren’t something you bought at Radio Shack

Yeah. Seems there was a City you could get those at...

Circuits aren’t something you bought at Radio Shack

They had OP amps, lots of stuff. I'm not sure what you are saying. Though over the years less and less. LOL

I’m curious to know what the ownership history of this check is. Obviously, once written, it was the property of Radio Shack, but did they ever cash it? Did the store owner recognize its potential value and stash it away without cashing it? An employee wouldn’t have had any legal right to it. If cashed, did someone at the bank have a right to ownership?

No. Back then, when the recipient of a check deposited it, the check went through the clearing process. The bank where it was deposited processed it, then it went to a clearinghouse, then to the bank the check was issued from. The funds were transferred through this process, then the original check was returned to the entity who wrote it, in this case it would be the accounting department at Apple.

So someone at Apple got a hold of it at some point, and eventually it made its way to auction.

These days it works differently, where checks are deposited via EFT and never have to leave the hands of whoever received the payment. But back then, every check you wrote would come back to you. (or your company)