Re: ARTICLE: Apple II serial #2000 being auctioned on eBay

["Giorgio Ungarelli" <giorgio@*no_spam*ungarelli.net>]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4610&item=2080413427

"Bryan Villados" <news002@macgeek.org> wrote in message
news:XmTJ9.118257$2z1.33251406@twister.socal.rr.com...
> http://www.macgeek.org/
>
> 12/11/2002 - Oldest known Apple II up for bid on eBay
>
> I was surprised to see this particular specimen of Apple II put up for
> auction.
>
> The seller of this item is Ernest, which is what we know of him as on
> comp.sys.apple2. He has one of the most awesome computer collections
around.
> Besides Apple II computers, he also collects Apple II clone models,
> including the Orange 2 and the Multitech MPF II. Recently, he's run into a
> financial situation, and therefore is forced to sell some of his valuable
> items, including this very Apple II.
>
> As a true Apple collector, he's done his research, finding out exactly how
> this particular specimen fits into the scheme of things. What he's
> discovered is that not only is this item older than the Apple II displayed
> at the Smithsonian Institute, it is even older than the Apple II Steve
> Wozniak currently owns in his collection.
>
> This is by far the oldest unit I've ever seen of the Apple II line. The
one
> thing that sticks out for me is the power supply. The very early Apple II
> models used a toggle-type SPST switch, and this is the first time I've
ever
> seen one. The keyboard is also original, with the power light raised way
> above the shell. The inside of the unit is very clean! Ernest pulled out
> every moveable part and cleaned it, along with every key on the keyboard.
> The logic board is very low on the totem pole, hand written serial number
> 2000. The logic board, however, has been upgraded to the Autostart ROM,
> enabling the computer to boot into BASIC instead of the system monitor.
> Other upgrades have been made to unit via add-ons, including the Apple
Disk
> II controller and disk drives, which weren't even in existence at the time
> of this unit's release. And, the original Apple II Reference Manual, also
> known as the "Red Book" is part of the bid, and it's in beautiful
condition.
>
> Sources have mentioned that this particular specimen could reach a price
as
> high as $10,000.00, a number that is usually reserved for an Apple Lisa 1
or
> a broken Apple 1. However, IMHO, the Lisa 1 is only worth that much
because
> of its scarcity in the collecting market. The Apple II, however,
represents
> something totally different. Besides being very rare, it also represents
the
> first fully-built system in its market. There are many firsts that was set
> by the Apple II. Because this particular specimen is among the first to be
> built, it brings this unit that much closer to the roots of Apple
Computer,
> and the microcomputer industry in general. If you read the book Apple
> Confidential, you'll see a stack of the very first roll-out of empty Apple
> II shells ever made. This very unit's shell could be one of those shells!
> Just think about it!!!!! My imagination is endless with this unit.
>
> In the very near future, I plan on creating a photo archive of this unit,
> and hopefully will post a Q&A session with Ernest on how he obtained the
> Apple II, and his thoughts on the whole collecting scheme of things.
>
> --- Bryan
>
>