Rare Apple 1 computer left at recycling centre

This story is similar to the one when your mom threw out your rare, valuable baseball cards and comics! A mystery woman donated a rare Apple 1 computer to a Silicon Valley recycling firm, and she doesn’t know it yet, but a 100, 000 Dollar check is waiting for her!

A local recycling centre is searching for the woman who dropped off the Apple 1 computer that is actually worth 200, 000 Dollars – the facility wants to split the money. The problem is when the woman dropped off the computer; she left without giving anyone her contact information.

In early April the woman in her 60’s dropped off a couple of boxes, and said that she was cleaning out her garage after her husband recently passed away. The vice president of the recycling company, CleanBayarea, Victor Gichun said that: “She brought in two or three boxes with some stuff like wires, cables, keyboards and an old stereo.”

Unfortunately, at the time CleanBayArea, had a long backlog of donations so they didn’t go through the woman’s boxes until two weeks later!

But, when they did go through her boxes, they discovered the very rare Apple 1 computer, and sold it to a collector early in May for 200, 000 Dollars. The woman refused to give her information for a tax receipt when she made the donation, so at the moment she is unable to be found.

The vintage Apple 1 desktop is one of only 200 first generation models every created in 1976! One is actually on display right now at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Each one of these rare computers was HAND-BUILT by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniack! Apparently collectors say that only a handful of these computers are still in existence.

“We thought it was fake, It was real,” the vice president of CleanBayArea told NBC news. He later said that he remembers the woman clearly, and would recognize her if he saw her again – all she needs to do is show up.

Apple 1 computers that are still in existence are known to sell for huge sums if they ever show up at auctions. In 2013, an Apple 1 that was still functioning was sold for 671, 400 Dollars at a German auction house.

CleanBayArea is an electronic recycling facility that specializes in computers and other electronic waste. Most of their donations come from local companies, although they do accept donations from individuals. They have a policy that states that they will give the donor half the proceeds from the sale of the item, and CleanBayArea just wants to honor that policy.

The recycling company says that all she needs to do is come down and pick up her check – let’s hope she finds out somehow that she is now 100, 000 Dollars richer!

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town