Rare Apple-1 With Steve Jobs Letter Sells for $1.15 Million
The "Hatfield" Apple-1 has sold for $1,148,200 including the buyer's premium, setting a world auction record for a commercially sold Apple-1, according to Bonhams.
Two bidders competed for 28 minutes before the October 14 auction closed, taking the working computer beyond its $500,000 to $800,000 estimate.
The machine takes its name from original owner Fred Hatfield, who complained to Apple about the lack of software for the Apple-1. A letter included in the sale contains Steve Jobs' 1978 reply, offering an Apple II motherboard in exchange for the Apple-1 and another $400. Hatfield kept his computer.
He eventually sold it privately for $40,000 while it needed repairs. The buyer restored it and obtained Steve Wozniak's signature on the motherboard before it set an auction record in 2013. Bonhams lists that earlier sale as approximately $686,000.
Apple-1 prototypes have fetched more in the past. The "Celebration" board, which sold for $815,000 in 2016, sold for $2.75 million in January 2026.
Popular Stories
A 47-minute video of the Q&A session from Apple's 2010 iPhone 4 "antennagate" press conference has surfaced on YouTube, showing Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and Bob Mansfield answering reporters' questions.
The recording was highlighted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who attended the event. Apple called the July 16, 2010 press conference amid complaints that holding the iPhone 4 in a particular...
15 years ago today, Steve Jobs passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. It was the day after Apple executives introduced the iPhone 4s at a media event on the company's Infinite Loop headquarters campus.
Image Credit: Matt Yohe / CC BY 2.0
In the days following his passing, Apple began posting comments from fans on its "Remembering Steve" webpage. Apple continues to maintain the...
Just two days before Apple's "Welcome home" experience in New York, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has leaked several details about the new products set to be unveiled, including an all-new smart home hub, a HomePod mini 2, and a new Apple TV 4K.
Here is an all-in-one summary of the details shared by Gurman:Apple's home hub with a touch-enabled display will be named HomeView, seemingly confirming a ...
