US-based auction company RR Auction said on its website that an unopened first generation original Apple iPhone (8GB), model A1203, sealed inside its box was sold for $54,904 at auction. The phone was originally priced at $599 (approximately Rs 49,500) when it was released in 2007.
Owner is Apple’s former employee
The auction company noted that the phone is accompanied by an AT&T bag and leaflet regarding rate plans and iPhone activation. It said that the ‘consignor’ noted that he purchased this phone upon its release in 2007, but did not open it because he got one from the company.
Last month, an original, sealed iPhone was sold for over $63,000 (approximately 52 lakh), marking a sales record for a first-generation offering. There were two other occasions in 2022 where unopened original iPhones were sold for $35,000 (approximately Rs 28.9 lakh) and $39,000 (approximately 32 lakh).
Other Apple products sold
RR Auction has previously sold an “undiscovered” Apple-1 computer for an unspecified sum. A Macintosh Plus from Del Yocam was sold for $26,590 (approximately Rs 22 lakh), a Macintosh 128K prototype sold for $16,500 (approximately Rs 13.6 lakh) and an Apple Lisa, which was released on January 19, 1983, was sold for $81,251 (approximately 67 lakh).
Macrumors reported that an iPhone 11 signed by Apple CEO Tim Cook was sold for about $4,000 (approximately 3.3 lakh), technical instructions annotated by Steve Jobs were sold for $12,500 (approximately Rs 10.3 lakh), and a Steve Jobs business card was sold for $6,188 (approximately Rs 5.1 lakh).
