Original Apple computer built by Jobs and Wozniak to be auctioned

An original Apple computer, hand-built by company founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak 45 years ago, was to go under the hammer in the United States yesterday.

The functioning Apple-1, the great-great-grandfather of today's sleek chrome-and-glass Macbooks, is expected to fetch up to US$600,000 at an auction in California.

The so-called "Chaffey College" Apple-1 is one of only 200 made by Jobs and Wozniak at the very start of the company's odyssey from garage startup to megalith worth US$2 trillion.

What makes it even rarer is the fact the computer is encased in koa wood – a richly patinated wood native to Hawaii. Only a handful of the original 200 used it.

Jobs and Wozniak mostly sold Apple-1s as component parts. One computer shop that took a delivery of around 50 units decided to encase some of them in wood.

"This is kind of the holy grail for vintage electronics and computer tech collectors," Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen told the Los Angeles Times. "That really makes it exciting for a lot of people."

John Moran Auctioneers says the device, which comes with a 1986 Panasonic video monitor, has only ever had two owners.