Rare Check Signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Expected to Fetch $25,000+ at Auction

[dontwalkhand]

So basically it would cover the cost of replacing an iPhone screen . . . barely.

You kidding? I can buy 25 Pro stands instead.

 

[Rafagon]

I've never seen a check signed by two people before.

So what would have happened--at the time--if only one of them had signed it? Would it still have been a valid check?

 

[Rafterman]

Looks like Steve wrote the check out and Woz just signed it.

 

[ellsworth]

Cool looking check

 

[tridley68]

You have a serious screw lose to pay that kinda money on that old piece of paper.

 

[44267547]

I've never seen a check signed by two people before.

So what would have happened--at the time--if only one of them had signed it? Would it still have been a valid check?

On our checks that we have, it offers multiple lines for dual co-signers. So I assume the check may not have been authorized if it was missing a signature that was required. But it depends on the banks policy/procedures on what’s needed.

 

[Enlightened Doggo]

Side note:

So, I heard a story from a friend that lives down in Boca Raton, Florida. He used to live in New York, and his dentist at the time, was also the same dentist that Jeff Bezos used. Well, apparently one day Jeff Bezos came in for a procedure, and told the dentist that he was going to start the ‘most successful and largest online distribution company in the world’. Apparently the dentist smirked at the idea, and thought he was comical. Well, I don’t think that dentist is laughing anymore given the magnitude of what Amazon is today.

I guess the point is, you can’t determine someone’s success just based off the level of education & experience, it also factors the level of motivation and execution of how they plan on making their ideations successful endeavors. Elon Musk would be another example of that.

Rather it be Steve Jobs or any of the other people I mentioned above, hate or dislike them, it takes brilliant minds to change the world. That’s what they all have in common.

Not disagreeing that Jobs worked hard and innovated, but being wealthly more broadly speaking has more to do with being connected to the right people. It's no coincidence that the great "college dropouts" of the tech boom all dropped out of highly prestigious universities. You can see the same factors in motion by looking at which startups receive funding today. It truly is better to be lucky than good.

 

[44267547]

Not disagreeing that Jobs worked hard and innovated, but being wealthly more broadly speaking has more to do with being connected to the right people. It's no coincidence that the great "college dropouts" of the tech boom all dropped out of highly prestigious universities. You can see the same factors in motion by looking at which startups receive funding today. It truly is better to be lucky than good.

You’re right, it’s largely factored into ‘who you know’, and of course financial influence is a big part of gaining momentum in various start ups and productions. But I think it’s all mutually related, when you look at ‘luck’, financial wealth, education, experience, it’s all necessary I think to become successful long-term.

 

[incoherent_1]

Not terribly far off:

View attachment 1959450

I was about to look for this if I couldn't find it in the comments.

Honestly, $25k seems a bit low (based on the inflation-adjusted value of the check) considering the hassle, risk, seller fees, insurance, etc. required for an auction.

 

[incoherent_1]

Not disagreeing that Jobs worked hard and innovated, but being wealthly more broadly speaking has more to do with being connected to the right people. It's no coincidence that the great "college dropouts" of the tech boom all dropped out of highly prestigious universities. You can see the same factors in motion by looking at which startups receive funding today. It truly is better to be lucky than good.

No insult to anyone who went there, but I wouldn't consider Reed College "highly prestigious." A fine school, sure, but not well known outside of the region.

 

[tominco]

It looks like both names were signed by the same person. If you compare the 'e' etc. This check is not signed by both! If you Google Steve Wozniak signature, he always sign's "Woz" and its done differently from here!
Did Steve sign for both?

I googled for Woz's signature and this close enough to what I found. Especially the "St" in his name. Interesting that it's shortened to Steve Wozniak and not Stephen Wozniak... And, I very much doubt he signs "Woz" on his income taxes or anything else important.

 

[tominco]

It'll be a collectors item just because it's a check. How many checks have you written? I had 4 last year (should have been two, if not for a couple of mobile deposits to my son's non zelle/venmo linked account), and none so far this year.

 

[WhatUp?]

Hmm...did Jobs order those cheques, small?

 

[Sodium Chloride]

That branch of Wells Fargo still exists today. Amazing!

I am wondering if the senior employees who used to work there remember Jobs as their customer!

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

You have a serious screw lose to pay that kinda money on that old piece of paper.

But it's part of the history tho. One of the kind. Can you imagine how much Rick from Pawn Stars would pay?

 

[cupcakes2000]

Seems somewhat dodgy that this cheque still exists and this is even able to happen. If it was cashed who’s right is it to extract it from whatever archives it was in and sell it?

 

[trash eighty]

Seems somewhat dodgy that this cheque still exists and this is even able to happen. If it was cashed who’s right is it to extract it from whatever archives it was in and sell it?

I was going to say the same, maybe it wasn't cashed and returned?

 

[troublador]

I agree with you about the college part, but it's still crazy to start a company in a garage and have it become the biggest company in the world a few decades later.

Apple isn't the biggest company in the world. Several other companies are bigger. Amazon has higher turnover and more than a million more employees than Apple. Apple is the biggest tech company.

 

[Makosuke]

I was going to say the same, maybe it wasn't cashed and returned?

I was also wondering how this check even exists. The photos of the back on the auction site appear to indicate that it was cashed 5 days after it was dated, so it wasn't just left in a drawer (which would be crazy for enough money to buy a new car in 1976).

Back in the '70s (I think; pretty sure I remember this being the case in the late '80s), banks would return the actual cashed checks to you along with your bank statement, instead of just a copy of it like in later years, so presumably this physical check would have ended up back in Jobs/Wozniak's hands along with their statement in August or September of 1976.

The question is how it managed to make it out of whatever folder or box they put it in and into somebody else's hands. Obviously Apple itself didn't list this, and I assume large companies destroy stuff like this after an appropriate number of years anyway.

 

[aknabi]

I have to get some checks that look like money like this.

I had the same checks from WFB back in early '80s (though Palo Alto, not Los Altos)... yeah I was a kid that thought "this looks like money so it'll inspire confidence" like it matters on a check... anyway dumb me should have been thinking about heading over to Apple to ask how I can help out instead (Woz came to our electronics club on occasion so was an Apple fan from start)

 

[armhol]

"mouses" lol

 

[tridley68]

But it's part of the history tho. One of the kind. Can you imagine how much Rick from Pawn Stars would pay?

That I would like to see. 😂😂😂

 

[svish]

Check looks good. Looks like it will fetch more at the auction. Maybe $50000.

 

[Enlightened Doggo]

No insult to anyone who went there, but I wouldn't consider Reed College "highly prestigious." A fine school, sure, but not well known outside of the region.

Today it's a very small and expensive private college that has produced 32 Rhodes Scholars. Their admitted students' median SAT scores place them in the 96th percentile. Obviously not a school for regular people. Maybe it wasn't as exclusive back then.

 

[macdisciple]

I did a screen capture of this cheque. I got it for $0. ?

In roughly 1998 I purchased a paper share of Apple stock. I meant to purchase another paper share as a graduation present for my girlfriend, but I got busy and when she graduated I scanned my paper share, printed the digital copy, framed it, and gave it to her with the intention of replacing it. She broke up with me on graduation day but I gave it to her anyways and never told her it was a fake. I don't know what happened to her, but it just occurred to me I could be guilty of securities fraud.