A first-generation iPhone still sealed in its original box has sold at auction for $63,356.40.
The unopened 8GB phone was initially expected to go for $50,000 but it surpassed that figure, selling instead for more than 100 times its original price — $599 in 2007 — on LCG Auctions Sunday, according to the New York Post.
The first-release phone, which at the time featured an innovative touchscreen, web browser and a 2-megapixel camera, was introduced by late Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Jan. 9, 2007, at the Macworld trade show in San Francisco. Six months later, the phone went on sale and was an instant hit, becoming Apple's best-selling product and receiving Time magazine's "invention of the year" title.
The original owner of the phone that sold at auction over the weekend, Karen Green, received it as a gift from friends for starting a new job in 2007. However, she already had a phone and decided to keep it sealed in its box.
"I didn't want to get rid of my phone, and I figured, 'It's an iPhone, so it will never go out of date,' " Green explained, according to CBS News.
For years the phone sat on her shelf, until 2019 when she had it appraised. Because it was an 8GB and not a 4GB, and still in its original packaging, it was estimated to be worth $5,000.
However, in October Green learned that an unopened, first-release iPhone sold at an auction for $39,339.
"I thought to myself, Oh my God, I think I have the original,' " she told Insider. "I called my son and I was like, 'Go get the phone and make sure it's not opened.' "
Green decided to sell the phone in order to support her new business, a cosmetic tattoo studio called Tattician located in New Jersey.
"If I could hold off on the phone for like another 10 years, I probably would," she said. "The only reason why I am selling that phone is because I need to support this business."
The phone was purchased by a private buyer whose name has not been disclosed.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.