Steve Jobs’ $4.01 Check To Sell for Over $25,000 at Auction

In the mid-1970s, Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs penned a small check to the electronics retailer RadioShack. Worth a mere $4.01 at the time, this document is now set to reach over $25,000 in an upcoming auction. Part of this unique auction is being hosted by RR Auctions, as part of its Fine Autograph and Artifacts featuring Science and Technology collection. The highlight of the sale? A truly unusual slice of Apple’s past.

The check, which dates all the way back to July 23, 1976, was written from the account of the then-nascent Apple Computer Company. It features a signature line that reads “Steven Jobs,” along with the company’s first official Palo Alto address.

The purpose of this $4.01 payment to RadioShack remains a mystery. Nonetheless, it gives us a glimpse into the early interactions between the burgeoning company and the electronics retailer.

Apple’s other co-founder, Steve Wozniak, bought the TRS-80 Micro Computer System from RadioShack and used it to create his famous “blue box” — a device capable of making long-distance calls without any charges. In their early collaborative days, Wozniak and Jobs produced and sold nearly 200 of these devices at around $150 each.

As the auction progresses, this historical check is already garnering significant attention. Current bids have spiked to $30,250 after just 25 attempts. While the check is valued at least $25,000, final bids will probably exceed this conservative estimate. The auction is set to conclude on Dec. 6.

Furthermore, this isn’t the first time a signed Steve Jobs check has hit the auction block. In May, a $175 check, also dated from July 1976 and signed by Jobs, raked in an astonishing $106,985.

This intriguing auction also offers other treasures that any Apple enthusiast would love, including a sealed first-generation iPhone and a signed replica of the original Apple-1 board.