Rare Steve Jobs check for $9.18 goes under the hammer, could fetch $25k

Steve Check
Steve Check (Image credit: RR Auction)

What you need to know

  • A rare signed Steve Jobs check has just gone up for auction.
  • It's a check to Tektronix, Inc for $9.18.
  • It was signed July 23, 1976, and could now be worth $25,000.

A rare check signed by Steve Jobs just went under the hammer, and could fetch $25,000 by the time bidding is done.

A lot hosted by RR Auction that went live today offers the "exceptional Apple Computer Company check", a 6x3 Wells Fargo Bank piece that was made payable to Tektronix, Inc. The check is signed by "Steven Jobs" and dated July 23, 1976. As RR notes the check uses Apple's famous first address, "770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto", an answering service and mail drop used by Steve Jobs and Wozniak while they were still operating out of Jobs' family garage. The check is described as being in "very fine condition" and sits neatly in a PSA/DNA authentication holder.

Tektronix is a maker of test and measuring equipment such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers, instruments that may have been used by Jobs and The Woz for the creation of the first Apple-1 computer, which was under construction at the time the check was written, just three months after Apple was founded.

Steve Check Back

Steve Check Back (Image credit: RR Auction)

While only written for $9.18, to a collector this lot could be worth upwards of $25,000 according to RR Auction's estimate.

In March, the house shifted an incredibly rare Apple-1 computer check signed by both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to the tune of $163,923. That lot was described as one of the most significant Apple autographs ever to come to auction, rivaled only by the company's original partnership agreement which was sold for $1.5 million in October 2011.

The auction kicks off today and will close on June 23, bidding starts at $5,000.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9