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A working Apple-1 signed on its motherboard by Steve Wozniak sold for $1.15 million at Bonhams in October 2026. The computer, known as the “Hatfield” Apple-1, is Registry no. 48 and came with a January 18, 1978 letter signed by Steve Jobs. The result was the highest reported price for an Apple-1 at the time, beating Bonhams’ $500,000–$800,000 presale estimate.
The $1.15 million sale
The 28-minute Bonhams auction ended with two bidders competing for the Hatfield Apple-1. Its final price of $1.15 million — Bonhams auction result, reported by AppleInsider, 2026 — substantially exceeded the presale estimate of $500,000–$800,000. Bonhams Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts, North America, Ian Ehling, called it “one of the most important milestones in computing history” and “one of the most significant Apple I computers ever to come to market.”
The amount is a realized auction price, not an estimate or asking price. It also sets a point-in-time record: future Apple-1 sales could produce different results depending on condition, documentation, buyer interest and the market for computing history.
What the Hatfield Apple-1 is
Registry identity and original owner
The machine is Apple-1 Registry no. 48. Fred Hatfield bought it from Apple in 1976, which led to the “Hatfield” nickname. The lot retained nearly all of its original components, an important distinction for a surviving machine from Apple’s first product.
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Wozniak’s signature
Steve Wozniak signed the Apple-1’s motherboard. A signature on the original board ties the autograph directly to the computer rather than to a separate photograph, box or later replacement part. The board’s working status and the retained components make the signature part of a broader provenance package rather than the only basis for the valuation.
Jobs’s 1978 trade-in letter
The sale included a letter dated January 18, 1978 and signed by Steve Jobs. Jobs offered Hatfield an Apple II 4K board in exchange for the Apple-1 plus a $400 payment. Hatfield had complained that software for the Apple-1 was limited, but he declined the trade. The letter documents a direct interaction between an early Apple customer and Jobs while Apple was transitioning from the Apple-1 to the Apple II.
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Why an original working Apple-1 is so rare
The Apple-1 was an 8-bit desktop computer designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak and introduced by Steve Jobs in 1976 as Apple’s first product. PetaPixel, citing the Apple-1 historical record in 2026, reports that 200 computers were produced and approximately 175 were sold through 1977. Only 74 are known to exist. Fewer than those 74 are believed to remain operational, although the available reporting does not establish an exact functioning count.
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That scarcity matters because the Apple-1 is not merely an early model in a long-running product line. It is a surviving example of the hardware that launched Apple’s commercial history, and each documented unit can have a distinct ownership trail. A working board also gives collectors and institutions a physical demonstration of a computer that was built in very small numbers, rather than only a display object.
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How the Hatfield result compares with other Apple-1 prices
| Sale or figure | Condition and provenance details | Date and source | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatfield Apple-1 | Working; Wozniak-signed motherboard; Jobs-signed 1978 letter; Registry no. 48; originally bought by Fred Hatfield | Bonhams auction, October 2026; reported by AppleInsider | $1.15 million |
| Hatfield Apple-1, earlier sale | The same machine’s reported previous auction result | 2013 | Approximately $666,150 |
| Bonhams presale estimate for Hatfield | Estimate, not a realized sale price | 2026 | $500,000–$800,000 |
| Restored Wozniak-signed Apple-1 | Restored; Wozniak signature reported | 2022; comparison reported by AppleInsider | $340,100 |
| Another Apple-1 sale | Condition and provenance details were not fully specified in the reported comparison | March 2025; comparison reported by AppleInsider | $375,000 |
| Another Apple-1 sale | Condition and provenance details were not fully specified in the reported comparison | September 2025; comparison reported by AppleInsider | $475,000 |
The comparison shows why the Hatfield result cannot be treated as a standard price for every Apple-1. Working condition, original ownership, signatures, accompanying documents and registry evidence all affect how bidders assess a particular unit. The 2013 result of approximately $666,150 also shows that this computer’s value has changed over time rather than following a fixed schedule.
What drove the premium
- Operational status: A working Apple-1 is rarer than the total population of known survivors and can be evaluated as functioning historical hardware.
- Unbroken identity: Registry no. 48 and the Fred Hatfield ownership history connect the board to a specific early buyer.
- Two founder signatures: Wozniak’s signature is on the motherboard, while Jobs’s signature appears on a contemporary trade-in letter.
- Nearly complete original components: Retaining the original parts supports the machine’s authenticity and historical integrity.
- Documentary context: Jobs’s offer records a real 1978 decision about software limitations and the move toward the Apple II.
- Extremely limited supply: With 200 produced, approximately 175 sold and 74 known survivors, each well-documented example occupies a narrow collecting market.
What the sale does—and does not—establish
The auction establishes that one particularly well-documented, working Apple-1 reached $1.15 million in October 2026. It does not establish that every Apple-1 is worth seven figures, nor does it provide an exact count of operational machines. Reported sources say only that fewer than the 74 known survivors are believed to remain operational.
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It also does not make the Bonhams presale estimate a valuation guarantee. The $500,000–$800,000 range was an expectation before bidding; the $1.15 million figure was the final result after two bidders competed.
Why this Apple-1 matters in computing history
The Hatfield computer links several moments that are usually discussed separately: Wozniak’s hand-built design, Jobs’s introduction of Apple’s first product, the practical limitations of early Apple-1 software and Apple’s transition to the Apple II. Its hardware, registry number, original owner, signatures and letter preserve those connections in one object.
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For museums and collectors, that combination explains the premium more convincingly than age alone. The machine is scarce, demonstrably associated with Apple’s founders and accompanied by a document that captures an early customer’s contact with the company. Those attributes made the October 2026 sale a landmark for Apple-1 collecting.
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