RR’s description page detailing this Apple-1 prototype says that the PCB being auctioned was the same unit that Steve Jobs used to demonstrate the functioning of the Apple-1 to Paul Terrel, who owned a computer shop called The Byte Shop. This demo was a key point in Apple’s history and helped the company bag its first ever order. At Terrel’s insistence, Jobs and Wozniak transformed the Apple-1 from something that would have remained part of a $40 hobbyist project to a fully functional personal computer that found takers despite its price tag of $666.66. Wozniak reportedly said this event “was the biggest single episode” in all of Apple’s history. Terrel ended up ordering 50 units of the Apple-1, essentially becoming the first company to partner with Apple.
The PCB being auctioned has been verified to be authentic based on photographs taken by Terrel in 1976. RR’s description also discusses the differences between this prototype board and the production variants. The board, for example, seemed to have been hand soldered by Steve Wozniak, who had an atypical “three handed” technique that made use of his mouth in addition to both hands. Wozniak also made several point-to-point connections on the back of the PCB — a quick fix job to make it fully functional just in time for the demo.
From the image, it is evident that the board, unfortunately, has suffered some form of damage, with the upper-right section completely missing. With over 15 bids already placed, the value of this Apple-1 PCB currently stands — at the time of writing — at $278,005. The next bid for the same is pegged at $305,806. The auction for this piece of computing history ends on August 18, 2022.
