Christie’s auctioned off an original Apple 1 motherboard this week and the piece of Apple history failed to garner enough bids to reach its reserve price. According to an ABC News report, the Apple 1 had a top bid of £32,000 (US$51,155), which is well below the £50,000 ($80,000) reserve.

The computer will now go back to the consignor, who will decide what to do with the machine. According to the auction description, the Apple I came from the estate of former Apple employee Joe Copson. It is numbered 01-0022 and is believed to be the 22nd model to be manufactured by Apple in 1976.

The motherboard was originally sold without a case, keyboard or monitor, but the model featured in the auction included a third-party case designed to look like an Apple II. Approximately 200 models of the Apple 1 were sold between 1976 and 1977, and only 50 of those units are still in circulation.

[Via The Mac Observer]

Apple 1 fails to sell at auction originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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