A prototype Apple 1, a holy-grail item in electronics memorabilia, has been sold for $815,000

A prototype Apple 1, a holy-grail item in electronics memorabilia, has been sold for $815,000

Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built just 200 of the computers in 1976

The model auctioned this week contains tell-tale signs that it is a prototype, probably made prior to its manufacturing run

One computer historian says it is "one of the first, if not the first ever" Apple computer

This "celebration edition" Apple 1 was expected to make $1m, but auctioneer Charitybuzz told the BBC that the final bid was $815,000

That means it is not the highest-grossing Apple 1 computer - that distinction belongs to a rare working version that sold for $905,000 at a Bonhams auction in New York in October 2014

A spokeswoman for Charitybuzz said that "about 80 bidders" had been watching the item. She denied reports that there had been a last-minute $1.2m bid, apparently made too late to be accepted

Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, based in New York, Charitybuzz said

The winning bidders, Glenn and Shannon Dellimore, said they want to take the computer into schools and universities to help inspire young people

No more than 70 Apple 1 computers are believed to still be in existence. The machine - initially named "Apple Computer 1" - first went on sale in July 1976, and was discontinued in October of the following year when the company turned its attention to building the Apple 2

The "celebration edition" is different from the other Apple 1s because it was manually soldered on to a blank PC board

Mr Wozniak was quoted by Charitybuzz as saying: "Only a few Apple 1s, on blank (not green) PC boards, may have been manually soldered, although I’m not sure of it

Apple historian Corey Cohen, who assessed the machine, said in a promotional video that the celebration edition is "one of the first, if not the first, Apple computers because this appears to be one of the sample boards"