Image: LCG Auctions
An original factory-sealed iPhone with 4GB of memory from 2007 is up for auction for the first time in the 2023 LCG Summer Premier Auction on June 30.
The auction also includes other original iPhones, making it the first public auction to offer all three versions of the first-edition iPhone.
When the iPhone first debuted in 2007, Apple offered a 4GB and an 8GB model. The 4GB model was shortly discontinued, making it exceedingly rare. Nearly 16 years since its launch to this day, this factory-sealed relic will be open for bidding until July 16, 2023.
The original iPhone’s starting price was $599 USD on June 29, 2007.
Over the past year, LCG Auctions has witnessed record-breaking sales for the 8GB first-edition iPhone, with prices reaching up to $63,356 USD.
“Despite the extensive worldwide media exposure our previous sales have received and the hundreds of contacts we’ve had with consumers who thought they had a factory-sealed original iPhone, this is the only 4GB factory-sealed version to surface,” said Mark Montero, Founder of LCG Auctions, in an email to iPhone in Canada.
“Based upon our recent record-setting sales and the fact that the 4GB model is probably 20-times rarer than the 8GB version, we would not be surprised if it establishes a new record sale price,” said Montero.
The iPhone comes from a solid source: the consignor was part of the original engineering team at Apple when the iPhone was first launched. Besides its breakthrough memory and touchscreen, the iPhone offered a 2-megapixel camera and a web browser – a pioneering package that quickly led to it being declared the Time Magazine Invention of the Year in 2007.
Besides the 4GB model, the 2023 LCG Auctions Summer Premier Auction also features a factory-sealed 8GB model and a 16GB model. The 8GB iPhone comes with a letter of provenance from a member of the team that coordinated Apple’s product launch events for more than 20 years, including the renowned iPhone debut.
The auction lots are as follows:
