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Re: Apple I to show up on ebay...
Joe ha scritto:
That's odd to think that the Mark Twain is far rarer than the Apple I, but
only 4 have ever shown up. Or, should I say, only 4 people (that I know
of) have ever admitted to having one?
And, who knows how many other Apple II prototypes there are that never
escaped from the Apple campus? Lots, I bet...
My grandfather was one of the most expert antique dealer/appraiser, and
I serously suspect that this state of affairs (inflated collector values
of vintage computer and keeping quet on ownership or previous ownership)
can led a big can of worm.
In the antique market, esp. at very high level, the tracing of previous
ownership is a key factor in appraising the genuinity and/or authorship
of the art work involved. In the antique computers field, well, nothing
can prevent forging an early PC; all is needed is the chips and a
motherboard (I must point that isn't so difficult to alter the
production date of a chip to a one whose is consistent with the original
machine, and there's no much equipment needed for producing a late
70s-early 80s motherboard)
I fully understand the privacy of people whose own a high-valued
collectible computer, but OTOH the same people must also understand that
eventually they should prove the genuinity of their goods (and ebay
isn't Christie's or Sotheby's whose even when don't disclose the buyer
of the high-valued piece of art, keep a careful track of who has buyed
what and at what auction)
Seems that I'm comparing apples and oranges, but when the inflated
market of antique personal computer reach these five-digit deals, the
dangers of forgery and bubble burst start to became a serious matter, IMVHO.
(and no, I'm NOT, repeat, NOT involved in the collectible/antique
computer sham (yes, this is what I think of it))
Best regards from Italy,
Dott. Piergiorgio.