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Rare 4GB Original iPhone Sells for Record $190,000 at Auction
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I have the original iPhone and it's box. Was used but in very good shape and I will take less than 75% of that price!
It's insane how 8GB used to be a storage option.. it's a RAM option nowadays 
Correct me if I'm wrong (seriously; I mean it), but isn't it only a matter of time before the battery leaks and/or corrodes everything inside that phone?
Then you open it only to find out the battery expanded and destroyed the phone lol
Investing that 190K for 40 years would probably make for a wiser retirement plan.
Well obviously I don’t say I agree! Still crying over my worthless beanie baby collection
The 4 was a damn fine phone. Next big jump was the 6s
I have a feeling that with things like this it's more the fact that it is original, unopened and unused. It doesn't matter if the phone itself is non-fuctional, corroded or whatever.
I have to take a lesson from it. Buy an antique iPhone for 200k and sell it for 400k after 2 years? What about not unpacking the sealed 16 ultra as a 1st of its kind and selling it 15 years later? Damn, it looks like number 1 wins it from 16.![]()
A factory sealed original 2007 iPhone has been sold at auction for $190,373, far exceeding the previous record for an auctioned iPhone.
![iPhone-Sealed-in-Box-Feature-16x9-1.jpg]()
Apple sold the 4GB original iPhone for a limited amount of time, making it is the rarest of the first-generation iPhone models. It was predicted to establish a record sale price of up to $100,000, but the actual sale price turned out to be far higher.
The LCG Auction began on June 30 and ran through July 16. The initial bid was $10,000, and the lot had a total of 28 bids, which led to the record-breaking $190,372.80 sale.
The iPhone was originally sold with either 4GB or 8GB of storage when it launched 16 years ago on June 29, 2007. The 8GB model turned out to be far more popular, so Apple discontinued the 4GB model after just a few months in favor of a higher 16GB capacity.
The person selling the iPhone was part of the original engineering team when the iPhone launched, according to LCG Auctions, and it comes with a letter of provenance. The 4GB model was sold for $499, while the 8GB version cost $599.
Just this year, an 8GB original iPhone sold for $63,000 in February, while a second sealed original iPhone with 8GB of storage sold for $54,000 in March.
Article Link: Rare 4GB Original iPhone Sells for Record $190,000 at Auction
Rare 4GB Original iPhone Sells for Record $190,000 at Auction
Rats! Now, I understand why I lost out on this.
I only bid $189,999.99 for it. 🙈 😁
I really wonder if these bids are ever actually paid. I've been an apple fanboy since the 90's, and if I was a billionaire, I wouldn't buy an original iPhone for even $1000.
Right, but when that battery goes, isn't it going to destroy the device? I've had some things corrode from an old battery, and they basically have to be tossed out after it happens. So if the battery is going to leak, or explode, then there goes your original iPhone, and probably even the box.
This is a toy for people with too much money and nothing to spend it on. It would never made sense to pay more than a few dollars for an old phone, but that's how the collector market works.
My very common 8GB unsealed and opened original iPhone. It's been working since June 29, 2007.
![1.jpg]( "1.jpg")
These aren’t actually rare at all, are they?
With the Apple I, fewer than 1000 were ever made and they’re over 40 years old.
In contrast, here’s a press release from Apple that came out at the same time as the 4 GB model was discontinued announcing that they had sold 1M iPhones:
The only question is what the breakdown was between the 4GB and 8GB models, but I seriously doubt any fewer than 50K of the 4GB were made, and I wouldn’t be surprised if over 300K exist.
This isn’t a remotely rare item. I’d guess a lot of people on these forums owned one. The only thing making it remotely rare is that the box is unopened, but plenty of people would have bought these to hold onto them, so I’d guess hundreds exist in this condition.
With the Apple I, fewer than 1000 were ever made and they’re over 40 years old.
In contrast, here’s a press release from Apple that came out at the same time as the 4 GB model was discontinued announcing that they had sold 1M iPhones:
Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone
www.apple.com
The only question is what the breakdown was between the 4GB and 8GB models, but I seriously doubt any fewer than 50K of the 4GB were made, and I wouldn’t be surprised if over 300K exist.
This isn’t a remotely rare item. I’d guess a lot of people on these forums owned one. The only thing making it remotely rare is that the box is unopened, but plenty of people would have bought these to hold onto them, so I’d guess hundreds exist in this condition.
Rich people usually are not about squandering their money but increasing it. Whether it’s artwork, antiques, whatever, they see this as an investment that will increase in value over time. You should see what prices are commanded by antique toys for example.
I had an original 8GB - was still working up until a few years ago, but heavy abuse by many people along the way, certainly no collector's item anymore.
I was living outside the USA so I was probably one of the first people to instantly install Cydia so I could remove the SIM lock. It was pretty contrived but somehow it worked and I was able to use an unlocked iPhone in Thailand. Long before iPhone was sold there.
Anyway just came here to say the packaging of the original iPhone was flawless. A work of art.
I was living outside the USA so I was probably one of the first people to instantly install Cydia so I could remove the SIM lock. It was pretty contrived but somehow it worked and I was able to use an unlocked iPhone in Thailand. Long before iPhone was sold there.
Anyway just came here to say the packaging of the original iPhone was flawless. A work of art.
Cydia really was the precursor to the App Store back then. The process of jailbreaking and installing Cydia was nothing like it is today. The hoops you had to jump through were no easy task but if you succeeded, you had the opportunity to add features and apps that made the original iPhone work in ways Apple never intended.
A friend and I waited in line on launch day, I purchased the 8GB and he got the 4GB. Unfortunately, he dropped his after 1 day and shattered the screen, and wound up purchasing 2 4GB iPhones that weekend.
A friend and I waited in line on launch day, I purchased the 8GB and he got the 4GB. Unfortunately, he dropped his after 1 day and shattered the screen, and wound up purchasing 2 4GB iPhones that weekend.
I just don't get it. I'm a huge Apple fan myself. I still own all my original Apple hardware and gear from the 90's and that stuff seems more valuable than this. Maybe I'm just a low-budget Apple fan. Womp Womp.