First-generation iPhone from 2007 sells for $63,000 at auction
The “iconic factory sealed, first-release iPhone in outstanding condition” is pictured in a photo provided by LCG Auctions. (Credit: LCG Auctions)
A first-generation iPhone from 2007 recently sold for more than $63,000 at an auction, far exceeding its original retail price of $499 to $599.
The iPhone was first introduced by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs in January 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco who famously told the crowd: "We're going to make some history together today." The device officially went on sale in June of that year, featuring 4 GB or 8 GB of storage, an innovative touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser.
Upon its release, Time hailed the iPhone as the Invention of the Year and it went on to become one of the most impactful consumer tech products of the decade, changing how we communicate, make payments, take photos, and more.
On Sunday, an "iconic factory sealed, first-release iPhone in outstanding condition" went up for sale via LCG Auctions and fetched $63,356. It had been estimated to sell for at least $50,000.
The phone’s original owner, Karen Green, went on the talk show "The Doctor & The Diva" to have it appraised in 2019. Green said she got a new job in 2007, and her friends bought her the new iPhone in celebration. However, she never opened the package since she had just gotten a new phone.
"I didn’t want to get rid of my new phone, and I figured it’s an iPhone, so it will never go out of date," Green said on the show.
An appraiser on "The Doctor & The Diva" valued the phone at about $5,000, largely due to it being in its original packaging and it being an 8 GB model.
The "iconic factory sealed, first-release iPhone in outstanding condition" is pictured in a photo provided by LCG Auctions. (Credit: LCG Auctions)
Other first-generation, factory-sealed iPhones have recently been auctioned off for about $35,000 and about $39,000 over the past year, according to LCG Auctions.
A total of 27 bids were made on Green’s iPhone between Feb. 2 and Feb. 19 with the first starting bid at $2,500.
Apple's current iPhone lineup ranges in price between $429 and $1,599, according to Apple Insider.
This story was reported from Cincinnati.