Two bidders lift a Woz-signed Apple I to $1,148,200 at Bonhams
Bonhams sold a working, Woz-signed Apple I for a record $1,148,200, roughly 1.7 times what the same machine fetched in 2013. It is one sale of one of 74 verified units, with a 2013 baseline that Engadget and 9to5Mac report differently.
The Product Desk
Four prices for the same Apple I. Bonhams record sale: $1,148,200. 2013 auction, per Engadget: $671,400. Hatfield's private sale, while it needed repairs: $40,000. Original price to Fred Hatfield in 1976: $666.60.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonhams sale price, a record | 1,148,200 US dollars | 1 | |
| 2013 auction, per Engadget | 671,400 US dollars | 21 | |
| Hatfield's private sale | 40,000 US dollars | while it needed repairs | 5 |
| Original price, 1976 | 666.6 US dollars | 4 |
What happened
- Two bidders competed for 28 minutes before the October 14 auction closed, taking the working computer past its $500,000 to $800,000 estimate.
- Bonhams describes the price as a world auction record for a commercially sold Apple-1.
- The machine was built in 1976 and first sold for $666.60 to Fred Hatfield.
- Hatfield later sold it privately for $40,000 while it needed repairs.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint For owners of other verified units, the result is one comparable, set by two bidders on one lot, and too narrow to set a market rate.
- Who has to decide decision Anyone valuing or insuring early Apple hardware has to decide whether a working unit with a traced original owner is a fair stand-in for a unit without that history.
- What it sets up precedent Two repeat sales, the Hatfield machine and the Celebration board, both rose between sales, so we'd expect consignors to cite both when pricing the next unit.
In 1978, Fred Hatfield wrote to Apple to complain about the lack of software for his Apple I [6]. Steve Jobs replied with a trade-in offer: an Apple II motherboard in exchange for the Apple I and another $400 [7]. Hatfield kept his computer [8].
The offer assumed that a customer with a software complaint wanted the next model [7]. The Apple I had shipped without a power supply, keyboard or monitor [9], and Hatfield still declined the swap [8].
9to5Mac wrote that the machine's full working order and its traceability to the original purchaser "added significant appeal" [13]. It went further and said the increase over the 2013 price "points to their continuing appreciating value" [24].
Engadget puts the 2013 sale at $671,400 [21]. 9to5Mac says $686,000 [22], and MacRumors says Bonhams lists the earlier sale as approximately that figure [23]. On either base, the $1,148,200 result [1] is about 1.7 times the 2013 price [19]. MacRumors says the new figure includes the buyer's premium [3]; the sources do not say whether the 2013 figure did.
The signature and the restoration both predate the 2013 sale, according to MacRumors [11], so neither accounts for the gap between the two prices. Engadget reports that Bonhams publicized the auction last month and put the machine on display in New York to boost interest [14]. Ian Ehling of Bonhams told Apple Insider, "It was an honor to offer Apple's first product during the company's 50th anniversary year." [15] In our view the anniversary hook and the New York display are part of the price.
The firmer evidence is a second repeat sale. The "Celebration" board sold for $815,000 in 2016 [16] and for $2.75 million in January 2026 [17], about 3.4 times the earlier price [20]. It is a prototype, and MacRumors notes that Apple I prototypes have fetched more than the Hatfield machine [18]. Two repeat sales moving the same way, each of them a single lot, are better evidence than one.
We'd read the Hatfield result as a strong price for one machine and a thin signal about the rest of the 74 verified units [10]. To decide whether a record price is evidence of demand, sort it on two questions: is it the same item as the last sale, and how many bidders set the price. The tradeoff is that with a population this small almost nothing clears both, so the usual answer is one more comparable.
- Same item, many bidders: the market moved. - Same item, two bidders: the price moved, and two people moved it. - Different item, many bidders: demand is real, but the comparison to the last sale is not. - Different item, two bidders: an anecdote.
The Hatfield machine sits in the second row: it is the same machine as in 2013, and two bidders set the 2026 price [12].
What to watch
- Whether the next verified Apple I to reach auction clears the $500,000 to $800,000 range without a Jobs letter attached.
- Whether Bonhams says if the 2013 figure included the buyer's premium, and which of $671,400 or about $686,000 is the right base.
- Whether any later Apple I sale reports more than two bidders at the top of the range.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence70
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 10%
- Operator
- Operator 8%
- Investor
- Investor 82%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The Apple I 'Hatfield' computer signed by Steve Wozniak sold to an unknown buyer for a record $1,148,200, the auction house Bonhams announced.
- [2]
The sale set a world auction record for a commercially sold Apple-1, according to Bonhams.
- [3]
The $1,148,200 price includes the buyer's premium.
- [4]
The machine was built in 1976 and originally sold for $666.60 to Fred Hatfield.
- [5]
Hatfield eventually sold the machine privately for $40,000 while it needed repairs.
- [6]
Original owner Fred Hatfield complained to Apple about the lack of software for the Apple-1.
- [7]
A letter included in the sale contains Steve Jobs' 1978 reply, offering an Apple II motherboard in exchange for the Apple-1 and another $400.
- [8]
Hatfield kept his computer.
- [9]
The Apple I did not come with a power supply, let alone a keyboard and monitor.
- [10]
The machine is one of only 74 verified Apple I models left (number 48 on the registry) and one of the very few still in working condition.
- [11]
The buyer who bought the machine from Hatfield restored it and obtained Steve Wozniak's signature on the motherboard before it set an auction record in 2013.
- [12]
Two bidders competed for 28 minutes before the October 14 auction closed, taking the working computer beyond its $500,000 to $800,000 estimate.
- [13]
The fact that the machine is in full working order and can be traced back to its original purchaser 'added significant appeal'.
- [14]
To boost interest, Bonhams publicized the auction last month and put the machine on display in New York.
- [15]
Bonhams' Ian Ehling told Apple Insider: "It was an honor to offer Apple's first product during the company's 50th anniversary year."
- [16]
The Apple-1 'Celebration' board sold for $815,000 in 2016.
- [17]
The 'Celebration' board sold for $2.75 million in January 2026.
- [18]
Apple-1 prototypes have fetched more in the past than the Hatfield machine.
- [19]
The $1,148,200 result is about 1.7 times the 2013 price on either reported base ($671,400 or about $686,000).
- [20]
The 'Celebration' board's 2026 price is about 3.4 times its 2016 price.
- [21]
The last time this machine went up for auction, in 2013, it sold for $671,400.
- [22]
The same machine last sold in 2013 for $686,000.
- [23]
Bonhams lists the earlier (2013) sale as approximately $686,000.
- [24]
The increase over the price achieved in 2013 'points to their continuing appreciating value'.
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Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- 9to5mac.comApple-1 sets a new record at $1,148,200 after a rejected upgrade
1 article · October 15, 2026
- engadget.comApple I 'Hatfield' computer signed by Woz fetches a record $1.15 million at auction
1 article · October 15, 2026
- macrumors.comRare Apple-1 With Steve Jobs Letter Sells for $1.15 Million
1 article · October 15, 2026
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