adminLONDON. – A first-generation Apple iPhone, in its original box, has sold for US$63,356 at auction – almost 16 years after it was first released.
The 8 GB phone, owned by tattoo artist Karen Green, had been expected to fetch around US$50 000 – but the final figure reached almost 106 times the original asking price of US$599.
LCG Auctions described it as a ‘highly-desirable factory sealed first generation original Apple iPhone from 2007’.
The sought-after technology had a starting bid of $2,500 but, 27 bids later, surpassed all expectations to fetch $63,356 yesterday.
The first iPhone, referred to unofficially as the ‘iPhone 1’ or ‘iPhone 2G’, came with either 4, 8 or 16 GB of storage and a 2 megapixel camera.
This is a far cry from the 1 TB of storage and 48 megapixel camera offered by the latest iPhone 14 Pro.
Tech fans can purchase the latest iPhone for £1,099 or up to £1,749 for more storage and a larger screen.
Karen had originally taken her prized phone on Doctor and the Diva’s ‘Treasure Hunt Tuesday’ in 2019, where expert Dr Lori estimated its worth to be $5,000.
On the show Karen revealed that the almost 16-year-old phone had been given to her by friends when she started a new job.
As she had just bought a new phone herself, she never opened it and a couple of years later she was told that it could be valuable to a collector. She said: ‘I figured: it’s an iPhone! It will never go out of date!’
But never in her wildest dreams did Karen expect to receive over $60k for the former gift as the $5k estimate alone on the show left her feeling ‘overwhelmed’. – Mailonline.
Online Reporter