A Steve Jobs signed check has sold for $181,183

Maybe we should have saved some of our old Apple gear. RR Auction's "Steve Jobs and the Apple Computer Revolution" auction has wrapped up, and collectors are scoring Apple-specific memorabilia at a premium.

The auction featured items from the early days of computing and video games, and boasted multiple Steve Jobs autographed items.

The biggest seller was a Steve Jobs-signed business card circa 1983. At most, five business cards signed by Jobs from any era have been authenticated by PSA/DNA. It sold for an impressive $181,183.

A vintage Apple Computer Company cheque from 1976, signed by a company co-founder, encased in a protective grading case.

Steve Jobs' check up for auction

Also part of the auction was a check signed by Steve Jobs, payable to Pacific Telephone, dated July 8, 1976. The check was sent from the address "770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto," which marks the first official address of Apple. It sold for $66,069.

Other items in the auction included:

A sealed-in-box 4GB first-generation iPhone, sold for $147,286
Apple-1 signed by Steve Wozniak, sold for $323,789
Apple prototype mouse from 1984, sold for $14,616
Apple Videopad 2 Mockup prototype, sold for $26,488
13 G3 iMacs, sold for $11,229
Two Apple Watch Hermes Series 0, sold for $9,375 and $10,865

In December, a check signed by Steve Jobs in 1976 hit the auction block. The check was written for a $4.01 purchase at RadioShack, and sold for $46,063.

6 Comments

Samchase 9 comments · 2 Years

About 7 months ago

How do they know if it's real? The "s" looks different than many of his signatures online.

dewme 5737 comments · 10 Years

If using all caps is shouting, does no caps mean whispering?

mpantone 2243 comments · 18 Years

Samchase said:

How do they know if it's real? The "s" looks different than many of his signatures online.

They don't -- not for 100% certainty. And forgery is old as the notion of valuable objects whether it be coins, artwork, books, whatever. It's not just $100 bills and Rolexes.

It's worth pointing out that A.) no one signs exact the same way every single time and B.) signatures evolve over time.

I know my signature has changed over decades and I don't always sign the exact same way whether it be at the DMV, the back of a credit card, or on my passport.

It's really up to the auction buyer/collector to decide whether any item for sale is legit. There are probably 8-10 major indicators that point to whether or not something like this business card or bank check is real or fake. For a relatively well known individual in the modern era like Steve Jobs, it's fairly easy to compare a signature on a given piece and compare it to other samples from the same time period.

For documents there have been rather intrusive and/or destructive tests in the past. Technology has improved over the years and there are more analytical tools that can be used today that won't require a physical sample of the item. Things like paper composition, ink and pigment, typographical styles, raw data (like addresses, bank account numbers, etc.). Is the item's wear consistent with its age and usage?

The auction world also places high value on provenance. If there is a traceable lineage/history of where the item has been, that will increase claims about its authenticity. Random unknown painting from Famous Painter X that mysteriously pops up in Oklahoma? Sketchy. Random painting described in historical documents (like an estate inventory from 1732) that shows up hidden in a museum basement's wall during an earthquake renovation project? Less sketchy.

The auction house obviously wants auction items to go at high prices, they get paid a fee. But buyers want something real, they don't want something that is laughed at as a phony.

In the end, it's on the buyer to decide whether or not any expert assessments about the authenticity of a given object are correct. You can't return auction items, they are as-is final sales.

dewme said:

If using all caps is shouting, does no caps mean whispering?

No, it just means you don't care enough about your readers to make your statements more legible and easier to read. The rules of capitalization were developed over centuries for concrete reasons. To mark the start of a sentence, highlight given names, et cetera ad nauseam. These rules weren't just spuriously generated for fun.

These basic rules of written language are even more important when communicating with non-native speakers. It really helps out those people whether it be in business or social communications. Many people who don't have any foreign business dealings or international partnerships don't get this.

Many of today's writers (especially younger ones in casual settings like online interaction) don't particularly have much respect for these rules and their readership. Casualness? Careless? Sloppiness? Disdain? Discourtesy? A combination of these? I have no idea.

However I do know that some people on this planet will judge others by first impressions and that writing is part of these impressions. The discipline needed to learn and follow basic rules of spelling, punctualization, capitalization, correct grammar, etc. really need to be taught at a young age and encouraged by a person's parents not just their teachers.

Samchase said:

How do they know if it's real? The "s" looks different than many of his signatures online.

Unfortunately neither the AppleInsider article nor the auction webpage answer the most basic questions that any serious buyer would start with.

Who is the seller?
How did they come into possession of this item?
Why are they it selling now?

There are probably verbally given answers but any serious auction buyer would ask these. Any hesitation by the auction house to these questions would be an immediate red flag about the authenticity of the item(s).

These aren't questions specific to these Apple-related items or even just tech memorabilia in general. They apply to any item that is trying to be resold whether it's an auction house, Craigslist, newspaper advertisement, antique store, flea market, whatever.