Apple-1 computer auctioned at less than expected
Rare Apple-1 computer fetches at less than expected at an auction in Germany Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

A rare working Apple-1, the first ever computer produced by co-founder Steve Jobs, has been sold at an auction in Germany.

The computer, which is one of the eight working models in the world, fetched €110,000 (£945,70). It had been expected to fetch €180,000 - €300,000.

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The computer was one of 200 Apple 1 units marketed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who developed it.

"From our point of view we are back at normal levels. Five years after the death of (Apple co-founder) Steve Jobs the 'hype' has settled back," Uwe Breker, a person who oversaw the auction told AFP.

Breker's auction house had been involved in a 2013 sale of another Apple-1 computer that fetched €516,000.

The owner of the computer model that was auctioned off Saturday (20 May) was a Californian engineer named John J Dryden. He says he still has its receipt, operating manual and other documents.

"(The Apple 1) was one of the first opportunities for someone to possess a real computer. I'd been working with computers for a while but they were huge," Dryden, who bought the computer in 1976, told AFP.

Last August another Apple-1 computer reached more than $500,000 in an online auction within three days of bidding. The model is thought to have been one of the 25 that Apple did not sell, as its original owner is known to be an early employee of the company. The computer was believed to be a prototype that uses higher-quality components compared with those sold to the public.