Many years ago Steve Jobs gave a keynote address at Macworld 2007 and introduced the Apple iPhone. This revolutionary device was quite expensive at the start. The base 4GB model was $500 and the 8GB model was $600, and that was only if you signed a two-year contract with AT&T. Nowadays, however, you sometimes pay significantly more. For example, a boxed 8GB model sold for $63,000 in February.
Now another factory-sealed Apple iPhone with 4 GB of memory was auctioned, which was one of the first devices ever produced. The original estimate for this model was $50,000 to $100,000. The auction itself started on June 30 at just $10,000. As of yesterday, bids were slowly moving higher as expected, reaching $42,000 on the day. And then it really started. After a short but intense bidding war, the final bid came in at a whopping $190,372, significantly more than the 8GB models sold recently.
“The original 4GB model is considered a “Holy Grail” amongst iPhone collectors. Its extreme scarcity is directly related to its limited production. Debuting on June 29th, 2007, alongside the 8GB model, the 4GB model was hampered by slow sales. Buyers chose to pay the $100 upcharge in exchange for double the storage space. The lagging sales resulted in Apple making the decision to discontinue the 4GB model on September 5th, 2007, just over two months after it was first released.”
LCG Auctions
So if you still have a sealed Apple iPhone 2G in the attic, you no longer have to worry about your pension. However, a similar windfall awaits if you are handy. A modified iPhone X with a USB-C connector sold for over $86,000 two years ago.
