Tech
Apple 2007 First-Generation iPhone Sells at Auction for $63,000
In an online auction, an Apple 2007 first-generation iPhone in its original unopened box sold for over US$63,000. LCG Auctions, which handled the auction, the device sold for $63,356.40, more than 100 times its original price.
Apple sold the first iPhone for $599 more than 15 years ago. According to LCG Auctions, the device was initially available with 4GB or 8GB of storage, a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch screen.
Sarah Jackson of Insider previously reported that the iPhone sold at auction belonged to Karen Green, a cosmetic tattoo artist in New Jersey. Green was given the iPhone but never used it because she was locked into a Verizon contract that didn’t allow her to use it.
Green considered selling the iPhone over the years, but she kept it until October when she contacted LCG Auctions after learning that another first-generation iPhone from 2007 had sold for nearly $40,000. She told Jackson of Insider she needed the money for her cosmetic tattoo studio.
The bidding began on February 2 and ended on February 19. Green had a “really unique piece with a great story behind it,” according to the auction house.
The iPhone’s bidding began at $2,500 and was expected to sell for at least $50,000, but it ended up selling for $13,000 more.
When Steve Jobs was in charge, Apple released the first iPhone in January 2007 — 16 years ago. Jobs called the phone “revolutionary” when he announced it at the Macworld conference.
On October 5th, 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died of cancer at 56, leaving behind a legacy that changed the computer, music, film, and wireless industries.
In August 2011, his once-forgotten technology firm briefly surpassed ExxonMobil as the most valuable U.S. corporation. He resigned as CEO that month. In his garage, the Reed College dropout founded Apple. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 and was fired nine years after a power struggle with Chief Executive John Sculley.
In 1996, he returned to Apple. Due to Disney’s acquisition of Pixar in 2006, most of his wealth came from Disney at the time of his death; as the largest individual shareholder, he owned approximately $4.47 billion in Disney stock.
