“Personal gift” iPad, autographed by Steve Jobs, up for auction
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Estimated , an iPad autographed and sent as a gift by Steve Jobs will sell for at least $10,000 at auction, while an unopened, gift-wrapped iPhone is expected to sell for more than $20,000.
While the new auction features two unopened original iPhones, and another recently sold for a record $158,000, the highlight of the collection is a rare autographed iPad. According to RR Auctions, Steve Jobs sent an iPad as a gift to a dentist in Hawaii.
Dentist Frank H. Sayre says he treated Steve Jobs for free “sometime in the spring of 2010” when Jobs and his wife Laurene Powell Jobs were visiting him. A Bay Area dentist called Sayre and arranged to treat Jobs.
But, despite the fact that Jobs asked to pay for the treatment, Sayre refused. “We explained that we have a policy that we never charge out-of-town visitors an emergency fee,” he told RR Auctions. “They were our 'Aloha patients.'
When Jobs insisted, Sayre told him about the silent auction to raise funds and asked for a signed iPad. There was a delay before Jobs returned to California, while Sayre tried to buy an iPad.
But Jobs' administrative assistant Lanita Birkhead wrote back in August 2010.
“Steve asked me to send you the enclosed autographed iPad (32GB, Wi-Fi + 3G).” there was a message. “[Because] this is a personal gift from Steve, we are returning your check.”
The auction is scheduled to begin online bidding on Saturday, September 23 at 1:00 pm ET. However, the auction house is already conducting so-called preliminary auctions.
As of this writing, pre-bidding for the iPad is nearly $12,000, already exceeding estimate.
Original iPhones and check
Also available for Two unboxed, unsealed original iPhones are being offered at the same time in the auction. One of them is a rare model with 4 GB memory, and the other is an original iPhone with 8 GB memory — along with gift wrapping.
Both models will retail for $10,000. There are currently seven bids on the 4GB model at $16,106, while the gift box edition has a single bid at $10,000.
An early check from Apple, signed by Steve Jobs
There is another check from Apple history. Unlike the previous one, this 1976 check, made out to Graphics West, is signed by Jobs alone and drawn on a Wells Fargo account.
It is also in pristine condition. It is expected to sell for over $25,000. At the time of writing, the bid is $18,868.
The last time an early Apple receipt came up for auction, it sold for $135,000.
