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The Most Collectible PCs of All Time

Is that computer in your attic a treasure...or trash? Here's the scoop on 19 historic digital antiques, worth from $10 to $10,000 and beyond.

Harry McCracken

Alto (Xerox, 1973). Estimated units manufactured: a few thousand; original price: never sold; current market value: at least $5000 to $10,000

After 34 years, the entire computer industry is still feasting on ideas that Xerox's PARC research arm came up with for the Alto. It had a sophisticated graphical-user interface, a mouse, ethernet, and a laser printer, all of which took a decade or more to go mainstream in other companies' products. Altos were never sold--they were used internally, and donated to universities--but in 1981 Xerox commercialized many of the machine's innovations into a $16,595 system called the 8010 Star Information System. The pricey device failed to catapult the company into a leadership position in small computers, but like the Alto, it's highly collectible today. (Photo courtesy of Digibarn Computer Museum.)
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