A tech junkie recently bought one of the tech giant’s original and working Apple-1 computers for a whopping £278,428 at an auction that went down at Christie’s New York City office.

About the Apple-1 computers

Apple-1, the tech company’s first personal computer was launched in 1976. Designed and created by Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the computers were originally sold at £521.68. Around 200 Apple-1 computers were made back then, 50 of these models were purchased by a tech store soon after their release.

In his 2006 autobiography iWoz, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak wrote that Jobs did not help build the Apple-1 computers.

Instead, Wozniak claimed that he engineered the computer on his own, while Jobs focused on selling them.

The auction

The Apple-1 computers catapulted the California-based company into fame thanks to its pre-assembled motherboard, which “put Apple far ahead of its competitors,” according to Christie’s auction listing. A computer’s motherboard is the main printed circuit board that contains key components like a central processing unit (CPU) and memory chips that are necessary for the computer to function.

Christie’s estimates that Apple’s first personal computers are worth between £234,760 and £391,267. However, the auction house didn’t mention why this particular computer was sold for a lower price than others.

Meanwhile, AppleInsider.com speculates that “it may be that bidders wanted a "pure" machine.”

Last month, an Apple-1 computer that belonged to a software engineer was sold at an auction in Germany for £97,184 approx. The PC is extremely rare as it is one of the eight working models in the world. In October 2014, another Apple-1 was sold by Bonhams auction house in New York for approximately £710,444.

According to Christie’s, about 50 of these original computers still exist, with many being displayed at museums across the globe, like at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.

Other vintage Apple products that have been sold for some serious money

In 2012, an original Apple 1 motherboard was sold at Sotheby’s for £293,196.

The motherboard is a rare item as it is a part of many Apple products from 1976. According to Sotheby’s, the Apple 1 motherboard would fetch approximately £140,856. What’s more, a letter from Steve Jobs was sold for as much as £21,128 approx. at the same auction.

Besides computers and motherboards, other Apple products have also been sold for a lot of cash.

Recently, branded sneakers created by the tech giant were put on eBay with a starting price of £11,744. The sneakers were created when Apple was considering getting in the clothing business. But the shoes never made their debut and were distributed among the company’s employees instead.

First released in October 2001, Apple iPods were all the rage in early 21st century. Today old Apple iPods are being sold for thousands of pound on eBay and other sites. In fact, some of these music devices are now selling for over £15,000.