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A rare Apple Macintosh prototype from 1983, featuring the "Twiggy disk" drive, is expected to sell for over $100,000 at auction (via New Atlas).

mac-auction.jpeg

The piece of Apple history is set to go under the hammer at Bonhams in New York. The Macintosh prototype, model #M0001, is one of the few surviving pre-production units from 1983.

This version of the Macintosh originally used a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive known internally as the "Twiggy" drive. It proved to be unreliable, leading Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to order the destruction of the remaining pre-production units before the final commercial release. The use of this drive sets it apart from the first commercially available Macs, which would ultimately ship in 1984 with the more compact 3.5-inch floppy disk system.

mac-auction-popup.jpeg

This particular prototype not only survived Jobs's directive but remains in very good condition. Included with the unit are several other prototype accessories, including a keyboard with a handwritten serial number, a prototype version of Apple's M01000 mouse featuring a unique connector, and a dual-density Twiggy diskette labeled "Mac Word." The prototype's software adds further intrigue to the lot; it runs early, unfinished versions of key Macintosh applications, and some of the notifications and instructions in the system are attributed to Steve Jobs himself.

The Bonhams auction is expected to reach a final selling price of $80,000 to $120,000. Given the rarity of Twiggy Mac prototypes and the historical interest surrounding Apple's early products, it is possible the final sale price could exceed expectations and become one of the most expensive Apple computers ever sold. A similar Twiggy model sold at auction in 2019 was fully functional and achieved a record price of $150,075. The auction is set to run from October 13 to October 23.

Article Link: Rare Apple Macintosh Prototype From 1983 Could Break Auction Records
 
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Well, you can tell, that it is old: the plastic is really yellowish.
This can be corrected of course with some Hydrogen Peroxid. :)
 
would ultimately ship in 1984 with the more compact 3.5-inch floppy disk system.

Blimey, I finally got acquainted with PCs in 1991 at Tech College where there were 5.25" FDDs and a few 3.5", which was like 'new tech' at the time. But here it says Apple released a 3.5" FDD in 1984. Wow. :eek:
 
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Is this unit rarer than a working Apple 1?
Yes, I believe so. I’m only aware of three that are known. There are surely a few more, but not many more. There are something like 60 or 70 Apple I surviving out of 200 or so produced, I don’t know how many of those are working. More than a few, though.
 
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5-1/4 or 3-1/2?...those were the days.
I makes sense Steve Jobs ditch the 5-1/4, because the 3-1/2 had double the storage capacity ( 720 KB ). Later the Double Density Drives doubled that to 1.44MB.

Hardly anyone owned a Hard Drive (10 MB Winchester); way too expensive for the regular user.

Yes, those were the days... but I don't want to go back!
 
There’s a big storage room filled with these old macs. Every year one of them gets auctioned for $$$. Ridiculous.
Not these Macs. This is one of only a few known to exist. Big difference between a 5.25" Twiggy floppy drive Mac and one using a commercial 3.5" Sony floppy drive.

Well, you can tell, that it is old: the plastic is really yellowish.
This can be corrected of course with some Hydrogen Peroxid.

Don't you dare. ;)
 
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I bet Steve Jobs would be the most surprised out of anyone, that there would be enough people in the world interested in this old junk for it to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2024.
 


A rare Apple Macintosh prototype from 1983, featuring the "Twiggy disk" drive, is expected to sell for over $100,000 at auction (via New Atlas).

mac-auction.jpeg

The piece of Apple history is set to go under the hammer at Bonhams in New York. The Macintosh prototype, model #M0001, is one of the few surviving pre-production units from 1983.

This version of the Macintosh originally used a 5.25-inch floppy disk drive known internally as the "Twiggy" drive. It proved to be unreliable, leading Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to order the destruction of the remaining pre-production units before the final commercial release. The use of this drive sets it apart from the first commercially available Macs, which would ultimately ship in 1984 with the more compact 3.5-inch floppy disk system.

mac-auction-popup.jpeg

This particular prototype not only survived Jobs's directive but remains in very good condition. Included with the unit are several other prototype accessories, including a keyboard with a handwritten serial number, a prototype version of Apple's M01000 mouse featuring a unique connector, and a dual-density Twiggy diskette labeled "Mac Word." The prototype's software adds further intrigue to the lot; it runs early, unfinished versions of key Macintosh applications, and some of the notifications and instructions in the system are attributed to Steve Jobs himself.

The Bonhams auction is expected to reach a final selling price of $80,000 to $120,000. Given the rarity of Twiggy Mac prototypes and the historical interest surrounding Apple's early products, it is possible the final sale price could exceed expectations and become one of the most expensive Apple computers ever sold. A similar Twiggy model sold at auction in 2019 was fully functional and achieved a record price of $150,075. The auction is set to run from October 13 to October 23.

Article Link: Rare Apple Macintosh Prototype From 1983 Could Break Auction Records
How cool is that? I still have my original Mac 128 that I upgraded to a 512 and then to a Mac plus with the image writer and data frame 20 hard drive and believe it or not it still works.
 
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I bet Steve Jobs would be the most surprised out of anyone, that there would be enough people in the world interested in this old junk for it to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2024.

There's a lot of money in nostalgia. I can't afford a hundred grand, but I'm sure I spend a lot more than most folks would consider reasonable for old junk from my childhood. ;)
 
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I makes sense Steve Jobs ditch the 5-1/4, because the 3-1/2 had double the storage capacity ( 720 KB ). Later the Double Density Drives doubled that to 1.44MB.

Hardly anyone owned a Hard Drive (10 MB Winchester); way too expensive for the regular user.

Yes, those were the days... but I don't want to go back!
The original disks were 1DD: single-sided, double-density 400K. The Mac Plus in 1986 introduced 2DD: double-sided, double-density 800K disks. The high-density HD format (1.44MB) came later on, in 1989.
 
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