The most expensive Apple item we know of at auction is an Apple-1 validation prototype board, which went for a reported $2.75 million in January 2026. This list ranks the 15 highest reported Apple prices from auction results, from rare 1976 hardware to signed memorabilia. Anything priced only by a custom jeweler, with no recorded sale, stayed out.
| Rank | Item | Sale price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple-1 validation prototype board | $2.75 million |
| 2 | Apple’s first $500 check | $2.41 million |
| 3 | Apple’s original founding contract | $1.59 million |
| 4 | The “Hatfield” Apple-1 | $1.15 million |
| 5 | The 2014 Bonhams Apple-1 | $905,000 |
| 6 | The August 2022 Apple-1 | $677,196 |
| 7 | Apple-1 from the second batch of 50 | $499,363 |
| 8 | The 2020 working Apple-1 | $458,711 |
| 9 | A working Apple-1 from 2025 | $375,000 |
| 10 | Steve Jobs’s 1973 job application | $222,000 |
| 11 | Steve Jobs’s Birkenstock sandals | $218,750 |
| 12 | A sealed 2007 iPhone | $190,373 |
| 13 | Jobs-signed Apple card, 2024 | $181,183 |
| 14 | A second signed card, 2026 | $156,658 |
| 15 | Another sealed 2007 iPhone | $147,286 |
1. Apple-1 validation prototype board: $2.75 million
In January 2026, a board that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs used to validate the Apple-1 design before commercial production sold at a Boston auction for a reported $2.75 million, about five times its $500,000 estimate. It was the headline lot of an Apple 50th anniversary sale.
We took the widely reported result. The coverage we found calls $2.75 million the hammer price, so the buyer’s total may have been higher.
2. Apple’s first $500 check: $2.41 million
In a separate January 2026 sale, a $500 check dated March 1976, signed by Jobs and Wozniak and made out to the designer of the Apple-1 circuit board, sold for about $2.41 million. The lot carried a pre-sale estimate of $500,000.
The number is the reported total with premium. Because a check is a document, not a product, we flag it as the odd one out.
3. Apple’s original founding contract: $1.59 million
Sotheby’s sold the original agreement that set up Apple Computer in December 2011 for $1,594,500. A founding contract is paper, but it has the three founders’ names on it, which is the whole point.
Our basis is the recorded 2011 hammer price plus premium, with no indexing for the years since.
4. The “Hatfield” Apple-1: $1.15 million
A working Apple-1 signed by Wozniak, with a 1978 letter from Jobs offering the original owner a trade-in for an Apple II, sold for $1,148,200 at Bonhams on October 14, 2026. Two bidders pushed it for 28 minutes, far beyond a $500,000 to $800,000 estimate. Fewer than 75 verified Apple-1 computers are known to survive.
This ranks on Bonhams’ reported result, a record for a commercially sold Apple-1.
5. The 2014 Bonhams Apple-1: $905,000
The auction that taught the market what an Apple-1 could fetch. Bonhams sold a unit in October 2014 for $905,000, nearly double its high estimate, to the Henry Ford Museum.
We used the 2014 closing price and left it unadjusted, so adjusted for inflation it would sit higher.
6. The August 2022 Apple-1: $677,196
An early Apple-1 board that had been considered lost sold in 2022 for $677,196, according to reports.
The figure is the reported 2022 sale price.
7. Apple-1 from the second batch of 50: $499,363
Another Apple-1 reportedly changed hands for roughly $500,000 in 2026, around $499,363 by the figure we saw. We could not confirm the sale details, so treat this one as approximate.
This is our softest entry, and we rank it as an estimate.
8. The 2020 working Apple-1: $458,711
A functional Apple-1 reportedly closed at around $458,711 in March 2020, a reminder that the price of these machines moved in steps and not a straight line.
We used the recorded 2020 result.
9. A working Apple-1 from 2025: $375,000
Another working Apple-1 sold for $375,000 at an RR Auction sale in March 2025. It is the cheapest Apple-1 on this list, and it still beats a house in plenty of towns.
Our basis is the published result from that sale.
10. Steve Jobs’s 1973 job application: $222,000
A one-page application Jobs filled out in 1973, soon after leaving college, sold in London in 2021 for a hammer price of 162,000 pounds, about $222,000. The same sheet had sold for $174,757 in 2018 and for $18,750 the year before that.
We converted the hammer price at the rate reported then, so the premium and VAT are excluded and the true total was higher.
11. Steve Jobs’s Birkenstock sandals: $218,750
Julien’s Auctions sold a pair of brown suede Birkenstock Arizona sandals in November 2022 for $218,750, billed as the highest price paid for sandals at auction. One report noted the provenance cannot be fully confirmed, which did not slow the bidding.
The price is the recorded result, with the provenance caveat noted.
12. A sealed 2007 iPhone: $190,373
A factory-sealed 4GB original iPhone sold at LCG Auctions in summer 2023 for $190,373, more than 300 times its $499 launch price.
We used the published hammer-plus-premium total.
13. Jobs-signed Apple card, 2024: $181,183
A 1983 Apple Computer business card signed by Jobs sold at RR Auction in 2024 for $181,183, a record for a signed business card.
The result is the recorded 2024 total.
14. A second signed card, 2026: $156,658
Another signed Apple business card went for $156,658 at the 2026 anniversary sale, proving the first record was no fluke.
We took the sale’s recorded result.
15. Another sealed 2007 iPhone: $147,286
A different sealed 4GB iPhone sold for $147,286 at RR Auction in March 2024. The gap to the $190,373 copy likely comes down to condition and timing.
The number is the recorded 2024 result.
Special mentions: priced but not proven sold
Custom jewelers have long advertised diamond-covered iPhones, iPads and MacBooks at prices from a few thousand dollars to tens of millions. We found no verified sale of any of them at those figures, so they stay off the ranking. If you are chasing the highest price a buyer actually paid for an Apple object, the 15 above are where the receipts are.
FAQ
What is the most expensive Apple item ever sold?
The most expensive Apple item we could find is the Apple-1 validation prototype board, which sold for a reported $2.75 million in January 2026.
What is the most expensive Apple-1 computer sold?
The “Hatfield” Apple-1 sold at Bonhams for $1,148,200 on October 14, 2026, a record for a commercially sold Apple-1. The prototype board sold higher but was a different kind of lot.
Why are so many Apple-1s on the list?
Apple built roughly 200 Apple-1s by hand in 1976, and fewer than 75 verified examples are known to survive, so collectors treat them as the rarest products Apple ever made.
What happened to the jeweled Apple products from the old list?
Prices for diamond-encrusted iPhones and iPads were asking prices from custom jewelers, and we found no verified sales, so we moved them out of the ranking.
Are Steve Jobs items worth more than Apple hardware?
Rarely. Signed cards, sandals and a job application sell for $150,000 to $225,000, while working Apple-1s have sold for $375,000 to over $1 million.
Do these prices include the buyer’s premium?
Where the auction house published a total, yes. The 2021 job application is a hammer price, which is lower than the total the buyer paid.
How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
For this list we leaned on published auction results with premium, auction house announcements and dated sale records. A price only counts if a bidder actually paid it.
Last updated: October 2026.
