The hunt is on for a Californian woman who accidentally recycled a classic Apple 1 computer that turned out to be worth $200,000 (£136,000).
The iconic machine was mixed in amongst an array of electronics and cables the nameless lady handed over to the Clean Bay Area recycling centre after see cleared out her garage in the wake of her husband’s death.
Having been handed over to the recycling centre, the vintage computer sat storage for a couple of weeks before being surfaced and recognised by staff as a collector’s item.
Now, having been sold to a private collector for $200,000,
The computer is one of around 200 first-generation Apple 1 machines hand-crafted by Steve Wozniak in the garage of Steve Jobs’ parents’ house back in 1976.
Originally sold for $666.66, with just 63 units believed to still be in existence, the machine has rocketed in price in recent years.
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“We thought it was fake. It was real,” CleanBayArea Vice president Victor Gichun told NBC news.
Gichun, who says he remembers what the woman looked like added: “To prove who she is, I just need to look at her.
“Tell this lady to please come over to our warehouse in Milpitas again and we’ll give her a check for $100,000.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.