Cyber Monday Sale
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Bidding for the check made out and signed by personal computing pioneer Steve Jobs will close late Wednesday. (RR Auction photo)
It’s a pristine piece of Silicon Valley history — and it comes with a famous autograph.
A check that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs made out to Radio Shack on July 23, 1976, just months after the pioneering computer company was founded, has gone up for auction.
The latest bid tops $30,000, with less than a day remaining in the sale by RR Auction. Bidding will close Wednesday, Dec. 6, with any initial bids required by 3 p.m. PST.
The check is made out on an Apple Computer Company account opened at a Wells Fargo branch in Los Altos. Listed is Apple’s first official address at 770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto — “the location of an answering service and mail drop that they used while still operating out of the famous Jobs family garage,” the webpage says.
RR Auction, a Boston-based specialist in Jobs and Apple memorabilia, calls Radio Shack an “unsung hero” of the personal computing revolution and notes that co-founder Steve Wozniak would spend hours roaming the aisles of the store.
According to an RR executive, the artifact comes from a private collector who has had it in his collection since the 1990s. The neatly penned check features Jobs’ signature — with lowercase “s” and “j,” as was his style, said a handwriting expert for the auction house.
In August, an Apple Computer check made out to Ramlor Inc. in 1976 and signed by both Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak sold at auction for $135,261.
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Wanda Parisien is a computing expert who navigates the vast landscape of hardware and software. With a focus on computer technology, software development, and industry trends, Wanda delivers informative content, tutorials, and analyses to keep readers updated on the latest in the world of computing.