Hatfield Apple I Sells for $1.15 Million at Auction

A working Apple I computer known as the Hatfield machine sold for $1,148,200 at a Bonhams auction on October 14, setting a record for a commercially sold Apple I, according to the auction house. The price includes the buyer’s premium and exceeded the estimate of $500,000 to $800,000. Bonhams said two bidders competed for 28 minutes. The machine is among the few surviving examples of Apple’s first computer and is identified as number 48 in the Apple I registry. The auction house described the result as a world record for a commercially sold Apple I; prototypes have sold for more. The computer is named for its original owner, Fred Hatfield. Its motherboard bears the signature of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and the sale included a letter from Steve Jobs dated 1978. In the letter, Jobs offered Hatfield an Apple II motherboard in exchange for the Apple I and $400. Hatfield had written to Apple complaining about the lack of software for the computer. He kept the machine after receiving Jobs’ offer and later sold it privately for $40,000 while it needed repairs. The buyer restored it, and Wozniak later signed its motherboard. The Hatfield Apple I previously sold at auction in 2013.