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Apr 12, 2001
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apple_computer_contract_signatures.jpg



Bloomberg reports that Sotheby's is preparing to auction off the original three-page document that served as the contract among Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne to establish Apple Computer on April 1st, 1976. The auction, set for December 13th, is predicted to see the document fetch $100,000 to $150,000.
"This is a foundation document in terms of financial history, social history and technological history," said Richard Austin, the head of books and manuscripts at Sotheby's in New York.
Additional papers documenting Ron Wayne's withdrawal as a partner just 12 days after the company was formed are also included in the auction package. Wayne initially received $800 for his 10% share of the company, and later received an additional $1,500 payment.

apple_computer_contract_papers.jpg



According to Sotheby's, Wayne sold the documents to a manuscript dealer at some point before another party acquired them in the mid-1990s as Apple appeared close to bankruptcy before Jobs returned to the company. That party has now decided to sell the documents given the recent publicity about Jobs following his death and the release of his authorized biography.

The Sotheby's auction of "fine books and manuscripts" includes over 350 separate lots, with the $100,000-$150,000 estimate for the Apple documents ranking in a tie for third with a 1733 map of America. The most valuable lot is predicted to be a 1789 letter from George Washington, which is estimated to sell for $300,000-$500,000.

Article Link: Apple's Original Corporate Papers Heading to Auction, Could Fetch $150,000
 

Mad-B-One

macrumors 6502a
Jun 24, 2011
789
5
San Antonio, Texas
Additional papers documenting Ron Wayne's withdrawal as a partner just 12 days after the company was formed are also included in the auction package. Wayne initially received $800 for his 10% share of the company, and later received an additional $1,500 payment.

One of the more expensive errors in history? I hope he invested that money profitable somewhere else...
 

FakeWozniak

macrumors 6502
Nov 8, 2007
428
26
Ron Wayne, April 12th, 1976, "Cool!, $800!"
Ron Wayne, November 28th, 2011, "Doh!"
 
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the-oz-man

macrumors 6502
Jun 24, 2009
403
154
What am I biddin' good folks he cried.
Who will start the biddin' for me?
A dollar, then two.
Two dollars then three? . . .
 

yomibro

macrumors regular
Feb 24, 2008
220
7
Apple should purchase the documents, frame them and make it as a permanent display in their new spaceship HQ.
 

ThunderSkunk

macrumors 68040
Dec 31, 2007
3,783
3,990
Milwaukee Area
Saw a recent interview with Wayne. He was nothing but realistic about his having given away his share of Apple. It made sense at the time, so he did it, felt no regrets, and is quite genuinely happy to see the boys become as successful as they did. Good-natured guy, a rarity among bazillionares.
 

nexsta

macrumors 6502
Jul 21, 2007
301
0
Am I the only one who thinks that this paper is only worth having when you are in a jungle and have nothing else and have to take a ****?
 
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tdream

macrumors 65816
Jan 15, 2009
1,094
42
Am I the only one who thinks that this paper is only worth having when you are in a jungle and have nothing else and have to take a ****?

Agreed, if it had any value at all, Apple would of gone ahead and bought it themselves.
 
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GiantSteve

macrumors member
Oct 20, 2011
64
0
Timing is everything in auction pricing. With the recent death of Steve Jobs and Apple's ascendancy to the worlds largest market cap company I would not be surprised if the papers fetch well above the $150,000 estimate. And yes, I think this is something that Apple should own and proudly display in its new headquarters.
 

alectheking

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2010
584
28
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

except that the point is he isn't a bazzilionaire since selling his stock for next to nothing?
 

tdream

macrumors 65816
Jan 15, 2009
1,094
42
Saw a recent interview with Wayne. He was nothing but realistic about his having given away his share of Apple. It made sense at the time, so he did it, felt no regrets, and is quite genuinely happy to see the boys become as successful as they did. Good-natured guy, a rarity among bazillionares.

What are you talking about he isn't even a millionaire?! Let alone bazallionaire!
 

orbitaljunkie

macrumors newbie
Feb 11, 2011
4
0
Am I the only one who thinks that this paper is only worth having when you are in a jungle and have nothing else and have to take a ****?

Exactly how I feel. Sad that this would rank so high up along with something written by George Washington.
 
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