Apple Inc. (AAPL): What Would You Pay for a 1976 Woz Original?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has gained a reputation for making “beautiful” devices – they maybe called works of art sometimes. Tech hasn’t always been pretty, but original works can be well-appreciated, whether in tech or art or music. Would you like to get your hands on an original Van Gogh or an original of a Beethoven symphony?

What about an original Woz?

Apple Inc. made about 200 of its very first Apple-1 computers way back in the mid-1970s, and the estimate is that about 50 of them are left, and even fewer of them are still in workable condition. However, one such working device – complete with “Woz” written on the motherboard, which was hand-made by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak – is scheduled to go up for auction in Germany later this month, and estimates are it could fetch nearly $400,000.

A similar Apple-1 was sold last year for $640,000 at an auction in Germany. It is reported that this particular model up for auction this time was auctioned last year as well but did not sell – and there is no explanation for it. This model was originally owned by one Fred Hatfield, and this one includes the original manual and a letter from the late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs dated in January 1978, offering Hatfield an Apple II 4K computer motherboard in exchange for the Apple-1 and $400. Seems that Mr. Hatfield passed up a sweetheart of a deal. (Tongue planted firmly in cheek.)

Breker, the German auction house, has photos of the Apple-1 on its website, and there is a YouTube video that apparently proves that the computer still operates.

What do you think? How much would you pay for an Apple Inc. original? And if you were to be in Germany to bid on that item, what would you do with it if you won the bid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.