iPhone first generation 2007 sold at auction for 63 thousand dollars

The 2007 first-generation iPhone recently sold at auction for over $63,000, well above its original retail price of $499-$599.

The iPhone was first introduced by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs in January 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco, who famously told the crowd, “Today we’re going to make history together.” The device officially went on sale in June of the same year with 4 GB or 8 GB of memory, an innovative touch screen, a 2 megapixel camera and a web browser.

Upon release, Time named the iPhone “Invention of the Year” and it became one of the most influential consumer tech products of the decade, changing the way we communicate, make payments, take photos, and more.

On Sunday, LCG auctioned off an “iconic first edition factory sealed iPhone in mint condition” for $63,356. It was expected to sell for at least $50,000.

The original owner of the phone, Karen Green, appeared on the Doctor and the Diva talk show to rate it in 2019. Green said she got a new job in 2007 and her friends bought her a new iPhone to celebrate. However, she never opened the package as she had just received a new phone.

“I didn’t want to get rid of my new phone and figured it was an iPhone so it never gets old,” Green said on the show.

The Doctor and Diva appraiser valued the phone at around $5,000, mostly due to the fact that it was in its original packaging and had 8GB of storage.

Other first-generation, factory-sealed iPhones have recently been auctioned for around $35,000, according to LCG Auctions, and for the last year, around $39,000.

Between February 2 and 19, 27 bets were made on Green’s iPhone, with the first starting bet being $2,500.

According to Apple Insider, Apple’s current iPhone lineup costs between $429 and $1,599.

This was reported from Cincinnati.