$4.01 Steve Jobs check expected to fetch $25,000 at auction

Forming part of the RR Auctions' Fine Autograph and Artifacts featuring Science and Technology sale that will be concluding on December 6, one of the items up for auction is an unusual piece of Apple history.

The check from the account of the Apple Computer Company dates back to July 23, 1976, and lists the company's first official address in Palo Alto. It is written to pay RadioShack a total of $4.01 and is signed by "Steven Jobs."

While it is unknown what the check paid for at RadioShack, it does at least hint at the history of the company and the retailer.

Co-founder Steve Wozniak bought the TRS-80 Micro Computer System, which he then used to build his "blue box" to make long-distance calls for free. In the early days of the partnership between Wozniak and Jobs, the pair made and sold around 200 of the boxes for about $150 apiece.

At the time of publication, the lot has reached $22,444 after 21 bids, with an estimated value of at least $25,000, though it will probably sell far higher than that.

In May, another auction for an Apple check signed by Jobs from July 1976 also went up for auction. However, that check to pay Crampton, Remke, and Miller, Inc $175 eventually sold for $106,985.

Other items in the current auction include a sealed first-gen iPhone, as well as a signed replica of the Apple-1 board.