A 2007-era Apple iPhone has been sold for $190,372.80 (£145,416) at an auction – 300 times more than its original sale price.
The 4GB model went on sale in 2007 for $599 but has soared in value. The auction was run by the US company LCG Auctions, which described the iPhone as a “popular high-end collectible,” which was “exceedingly rare”.
The auction website said the iPhone was still in its factory wrapping and in exceptional condition. The auction had attracted 28 bids in total after an initial bid of $10,000.
This listing comes after LCG Auctions sold another first-generation iPhone for $63,356 in February. Another firm, Wright Auctions, sold a first-generation iPhone for $40,320 in March.
LCG described the phone as a “holy grail” among iPhone collectors due to its extreme scarcity. It is uncommon to find a first-generation iPhone with no damage to its display or broken buttons.
The phone comes in its original box, with 4GB of storage, a 2-megapixel camera and a web browser. The auction website also notes that the consignor was part of the original engineering team at Apple when the iPhone first launched.
This year marks 16 years since Apple’s then chief executive, Steve Jobs, introduced the iPhone at Macworld in San Francisco, California, on 9 January 2007, saying: “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”
The iPhone quickly became Apple’s most successful product and was named 2007 invention of the year by Time magazine.
The 4GB model was discontinued shortly after launch due to lagging total sales and the release of an 8GB model.
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