According to Apple Insiders, the auction house could LCG Auctions auctioned off a boxed Apple iPhone for $63,356.40 on February 19, 2023. The device with only eight gigabytes of flash memory is still in the delivery condition, but even the foil around the packaging is still sealed. According to LCG, it is the highest bid that an iPhone has received at auction.
The auction started on February 2nd with the starting price being $2500. The auction house assumed early on that the device would bring in around $50,000, but expectations were far exceeded. However, part of the record sum of more than 63,300 dollars is due to the fees that the auction house collects for the auction.
First-generation iPhones are more often sold at auction
It’s not the first time a first-gen iPhone has been auctioned off for big bucks. In August and October 2022, two devices that were also originally welded were sold at two previous auctions at prices of around $35,000 and a good $39,000 respectively. The previous owner of the model now being auctioned received the device as a gift from friends in 2007, when Apple was just launching the first iPhone. But because the first generation of the iPhone could only be used via the AT&T mobile network, the gift ended up in a box – after all, the woman was a customer of competitor Verizon, with whose network the iPhone was simply incompatible.
The owner had the smartphone appraised for the first time in 2019, with a value of around US$ 5,000 assumed at the time. The previous owner now wants to use the proceeds from the auction to set up a new company.
- Record price for unused first generation iPhone: $63,356.40.
- The auction started at $2,500.
- Auction house expected $50,000.
- Last year iPhones were auctioned for $35,000 and $39,000 respectively.
- The previous owner received the iPhone 2007 as a gift.
- Value estimated at $5,000 in 2019.
- Proceeds to finance new company.
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