Rare first 4GB iPhone sold at auction for a record $190,000
The collector paid a huge sum for the model, which was discontinued 2 months after its release.
Today, a smartphone with 4 GB of storage is unlikely to attract attention in stores, and 16 years ago, buyers refused to buy such an iPhone in favor of a $100 more expensive model with twice the storage capacity. However, collectors have a specific taste, and this did not stop one of them from recently paying $190,372.80 for an original 4GB iPhone at auction.
Until then, the highest price ever paid for a 2007 iPhone was $63,356.40.
The sale was realized through LCG Auctions and the initial cost of the model was $499, which means that the final price was 38,050.83% higher. After 28 bids, the exact final price was $158,644 + administrative costs.
The organizers hoped to get between $50,000 and $100,000 for the phone, but the result exceeded expectations.
According to the auction page, the first-generation iPhone with 4 GB of flash memory is the “Holy Grail” for collectors, as Apple stopped production two months after its release. In addition, the model will be delivered in its original packaging, never activated, and in “exceptional condition”. The iPhone has a 3.5-inch LCD display and a 2-megapixel camera.
The previous owner, according to LCG Auctions, “was part of the original Apple engineering team,” which increased the value of this particular device.
“Collectors and investors will be hard pressed to find a better example,” the auction page says.
Another first-generation iPhone with 8 GB of storage was also sold during this auction for a lower, but still staggering, price of $53,725.20.
