British auction house Christie's has a precious heirloom up for bid: an original 1976 Apple-1, the first Apple computer. It says its estimated value is $161,600 to $242,400. That's nearly ten times higher than the Apple-1 market value of $15,000 to $25,000 I came up with when I wrote a story on collectible computers back in 2007. But this sounds like one of the best examples of the machine you're likely to find, with the original box, cassette interface, documentation, BASIC on cassette, and a letter from Steve Jobs.
Bottom line: The Apple-1 is important because it was the first Apple computer, not because it was a breakthrough piece of technology.
When I wrote that piece about collectible PCs, I tracked down Paul Terrell, the pioneering computer store owner who was the first retailer to buy and sell Apple computers. He was the guy who told Jobs and Wozniak that they should offer the Apple-1 as an assembled board, not a kit -- and he sold the machine in a wooden case with a keyboard, making it a lot more personal than Apple's stock model. His memories of the Apple-1 launch make for great reading.
This story, "Apples are Pricey All Right: $160,000 for an Apple-1" was originally published by Technologizer.