An original, factory-sealed 4GB iPhone 1 recently sold at auction for a staggering $190,372.80. The phone sold for $499 when released in 2007.
The iPhone, which has been sealed in its original box for the last 16 years, is a part of new trend of original iPhones breaking auction records, according to a report by Gizmodo.
(The Associated Press)
Last year, LCG Auctions sold an 8GB version of the original iPhone, still in its plastic shrink wrap, for $39,339.60. Earlier this year, after appraisers speculated it could sell for as much as $50,000, another iPhone 1 sealed in its original box sold at auction for $63,356.40.
Interestingly, the former owner of the recently sold 4GB iPhone was “part of the original engineering team at Apple when the iPhone first launched,” according to the LCG Auctions listing.
It remains unclear if the previous owner was given the iPhone by Apple or if they had to buy one just like everyone else did.
The origin of the iPhone that sold, and the fact that it’s a 4GB model, also reportedly means that future original iPhone auctions probably won’t sell for the same staggering price, due to the rarity and specific provenance of the phone.
Apple electronics are not the only cultural curiosities skyrocketing in price on the auction market.
Last month, the bar from the television series Cheers sold for $675,000 at auction, garnering the highest bid among the nearly 1,000 props, costumes and sets from classic TV shows offered up from a collection amassed by one man.
Earlier this year, a set of Rocky VHS tapes was auctioned for more than $50,000, amid growth in the collectibles market.
In 2021, a sealed copy of the video game The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) sold for nearly $900,000 at Heritage Auctions.
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