Pick up a rare first-gen iPhone for a mere $50,000

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Pick up a rare first-gen iPhone for a mere $50,000
Is this something you'd play $50,000 for?
Photo: LCG Auctions

You can grow your collection of classic Apple gear with an original iPhone from 2007… if your pockets are deep enough. A first-generation iOS handset doesn’t usually go for that much, but this one is still sealed in the original packaging.

Typically, an iPhone 1 sells for a few hundreds dollars. This one might hit $50,000.

First-gen iPhone goes up for auction

It’s a historic device. Before the original iPhone, smartphones were a niche product. The launch of Apple’s 2007 model transformed up the market, and had millions of people around the world dumping their RAZRs and Nokias to buy iPhone instead.

People today might balk at using one though, with its 3.5-inch display, 2 MP rear camera, no front cam and 4/8/16GB of storage. Still, the first-gen iPhone is a milestone in technology history.

And one collectors are willing to pay big bucks for. In late 2022, a collector put down $39,340 for a unit still sealed in the box.

And now there’s another chance. LCG Auctions will put up an “Original 2007 Apple iPhone Factory Sealed” for bids on Thursday.

A handset that was never even taken out of the box requires an unusual backstory. It was first owned by Karen Green, who received it as a gift, according to Business Insider. Problem was, she was a Verizon customer and the 2007 iPhone was AT&T only. So she put it on a shelf.

Many years later, it’s coming out to be sold. LCG Auctions puts the price estimate at “$50,000 – and up.” The minimum bid is $2,500.

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