Apple II serial #13 for sale on Ebay

Too bad about the power supply. Looks like a replacement.
Otherwise, should be cleaned up and put in a museum.

Too bad about the power supply. Looks like a replacement.
Otherwise, should be cleaned up and put in a museum.

The Whole Case was changed... It was originally Ventless..

MarkO

I still think this unit even though the case and supply were replaced, my guess under warranty, has great provenance. That letter alone makes it a great piece for any Apple collector of museum. Too bad it was put up on eBay. I wonder what it would fetch at a real auction which attracts high end collectors and museums. They don't typically buy on eBay.

Cheers,
Corey

No close-ups of the motherboard/internal components? It does seem like the whole listing is a bit "rushed", and they should have gone through an official auction.

Well it´s like in most such cases... the relatives in most cases don´t really know what they have....
and also often greed drives for collecting fast money and then
those sellers don´t care much about thinking of best preservation
or other aspects.... just get the money in the account....
i would not be suprized if the relatives sold the Appleshares
within the first 72 hours.....
that´s life....
speedyG

All,

The price stands at $4,850.00 with
less than 24 hours to go.

If this unit, being 0013, goes for less than $10k to $15k
there is absolutely something stinky in Denmark.

Steven

Probably get most of the bidding in the last 2 minutes

Hello Steven,
it´s like Wayne tells....
the opera isn´t done unless the fat lady stops screaming and the final curtain dropped down....
speedyG

How important is the serial number on the bottom anyway? It's only attached to the bottom mounting plate. Wouldn't the upper part of the case be more important (but no serial number) ? Or the motherboard serial number? To me it seems like the least important part of the Apple II, but possibly the most "visible" to others. Like the history on this item - the upper part of the case and the power-supply has been changed. It's also possible the motherboard has been switched out (again - no clear photos). In the end, what's left?

I guess it all comes down to the historical significance of the claimed owner, and what that's worth to others. But how do you verify that - especially when the presentation of the auction is so vague. How do you prove the provenance? There will be a certificate from Bob Bishop's brother, but who is the seller? Are they an authority on these things? To me, a certificate would only mean something from an established authority with a reputation to uphold.

Don't mean to step on anyone's toes, and with this, like anything else, the value is seen differently by different people. It just seems like an important item like this would need clear confirmation of inspection by an established expert in the field, a certificate from an authority in the field, and being auctioned by a real auction house - and the item would need a professional cleaning, and some clear pictures! I will admit, though, the letter is really cool.

Sherlock,

Everything you have said is true.
If there were a letter attached from Woz, would
that change the way people view the item?

Certainly.

The fact is, there are many folks who know who
Bob Bishop is and what he meant to the Apple II community.

I never met Bob myself.
I wish I had had the opportunity.

As of about 10 minutes ago, the price was at $5,200.00.
There is not much time left.

If there is any kind of justice in the world,
the ending price will be HUGE!

Steven

well final curtain dropped at 17.877,00 U.S. Dollars....
speedyG

Could've done much better at Christies. This essentially moved for pocket change.

Second thought, would Christies have accepted this?

Yes they would have accepted it, but it would have take a while to come to auction. eBay prices can be 1/3 or less than auction house prices because an auction house can take up to a year or more to bring an item to sale.

W... T... F... 17.8k? Really? For that? And that is 'pocket change' to who?

It's just an Apple II, with mixed parts. Bob Bishop is famous enough to warrant that?

I guess I no longer understand this world. Time to go up to the mountains and retire/disappear.

S/N 140-150ish (I forget the exact number) went in the summer of 2013 for about $25k

Granted, it was all original (ventless case, etc.) but I think many of us were originally expecting those kinds of numbers (at least I was)
until we saw what had been changed/upgraded over the years. Then it seemed that 10-15k was more likely. Had it gone to an auction house I have no doubt it would have gone higher.

Let's face it, not too many double digit serial number IIs have even been seen, let alone offered for sale. Not to mention aren't more than 99 or 100 of them (was 00 the first or 01??):-)
Zan

Zan,

00 would be a prototype.
Now THAT would be cool to have.

Steven

Wow, wow, wow. Not pocket change for me, but I think the original comment was made relative to what it COULD be worth.

I always come back to the fact there is no clear authentication. Labels can be faked. Laser printer, custom industry label-maker, 1970's era label lamination machine (using some old technique that can be confirmed on spectral analysis), you name it, someone's got access to it. Some meaningless "certificate" printed up by someone, signed by a family member ("yeah, I'm pretty sure he was typing on it a lot years back")? So if Christie's checked it out, had a signed certificate from a recognized expert, that's totally different. Then go as high as you can afford. This has no authentication, not to mention an extremely feeble attempt by the seller to document what they're selling, and I can't help but feel that someone's being taken here. Perhaps the buyer requested more pictures and the seller sent them directly.

I hope whoever bought it gets what they feel they purchased. Let's see if they pay up! That's the other side of things. I've sold a bunch of stuff on eBay, and I actually get very uncomfortable when prices go way up - because that means people are being emotional, and when the dust settles and come to their senses, they back out and don't pay. I've had several auctions go that way. That's why I actually prefer a "BUY IT NOW" set at what I think is a fair price. I've NEVER had a buyer with a "BUY IT NOW" sale back out.

All I can say is "wow".

S/N 140-150ish (I forget the exact number) went in the summer of 2013 for about $25k

Granted, it was all original (ventless case, etc.) but I think many of us were originally expecting those kinds of numbers (at least I was)
until we saw what had been changed/upgraded over the years. Then it seemed that 10-15k was more likely. Had it gone to an auction house I have no doubt it would have gone higher.

Let's face it, not too many double digit serial number IIs have even been seen, let alone offered for sale. Not to mention aren't more than 99 or 100 of them (was 00 the first or 01??):-)
Zan

Yes, back in June 2013 there were 2 eBay auctions that really pushed the bar on the value of these very low serial number Apple II systems:

Apple II serial number 0047 sold for $23k:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-computer-one-of-the-first-100-low-serial-number-Works-with-extras-/181152615614?nma=true&si=TeFMEPbnx2sp7%252Fwmdjmwcg5SR0k%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Apple II serial number 0148 sold for just over $24k:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-II-Low-Serial-Number-A2S1-0148-Works-Rev-0-Motherboard-Original-PSU-/261251962786?nma=true&si=TeFMEPbnx2sp7%252Fwmdjmwcg5SR0k%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

The interesting thing is these two appeared within the same month! Since then I have not seen comparable systems up for auction. So one can only speculate what these would go for now, over two years later (!).

The serial numbers started with A2S1-0001. Here is the very cool story about the first two machines made:
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/Apple/allied_computer.htm

Anyhow, I think the Bob Bishop machine is awesome, and congratulations to the new owner on adding a unique piece of early Apple history to their collection.

Howie

epoxy,

Wow!
Great story!