Winner of 'Celebration' Apple-1 Auction Was Prepared to Pay $2 Million for 'Holy Grail of Computers' - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Winner of 'Celebration' Apple-1 Auction Was Prepared to Pay $2 Million for 'Holy Grail of Computers'

by

After placing the winning $815,000 bid on the rare "Celebration" Apple-1 computer last week, Glenn Dellimore spoke with Business Insider about his reasons for purchasing the computer. Dellimore made the decision with his wife, Shannnon, and the two were not only prepared to pay up to $2 million for the piece of Apple history, but both see it only increasing in value over the years.

The Dellimores -- who founded the Hollywood skin care brand Glamglow, now owned by Estée Lauder -- think that in around 10 to 15 years, the Apple-1 sold by CharityBuzz "could be worth as much as a Monet or Picasso." The rarity of this particular Apple-1 is doubled by the fact that it started as a "blank original-run board," that was never meant to be sold to the public and was not from a production run, potentially making it one of the first Apple-1 computers ever made.

Glenn and Shannon Dellimore

Shannon and Glenn Dellimore

"When the auction was taking place, I realized we’d actually be in the air when it ended. Just as our wheels touched down, there were 30 seconds left in the auction and I was actually outbidded with 37 seconds left," Dellimore said. "I think the bid was $270,000 when I looked, and then it went up again, and I kept going bidding with someone else until it was $515,000. I said, 'you know what, I’m just going to put in a large number.'"

He said he might have bidded up to $2 million if he had been outbid again.

"Typically with things that are so valuable and so rare, there will be buyers in the world that are willing to pay whatever it takes," he said.

The current plan for the Apple-1 is for it to be displayed in a museum, and Glenn Dellimore hopes that the computer, which he refers to both as a "piece of history" and the "holy grail of computers," will be used to help educate younger people. Ultimately, Dellimore said that "the possibility of it being the number one, the very first prototype that Steve worked on, and with the way over time Apple has changed the world, this computer is the holy grail of computers, it is the most important computer on the planet, I think."

Top Rated Comments

127 months ago
Apple charging a premium for outdated hardware again. This is getting ridiculous!!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
127 months ago
The current plan for the Apple-1 is for it to be displayed in a museum, and Glenn Dellimore hopes that the computer, which he refers to both as a "piece of history" and the "holy grail of computers," will be used to help educate younger people. Ultimately, Dellimore said that "the possibility of it being the number one, the very first prototype that Steve worked on, and with the way over time Apple has changed the world, this computer is the holy grail of computers, it is the most important computer on the planet, I think."
I bet Woz never would have dreamed the early computers he was hand building back then would ever be so valuable and be sold at auction with ideas of spending up to $2 million for one.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tigres Avatar
127 months ago
He outbid me.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
derbladerunner Avatar
127 months ago
"When the auction was taking place, I realized we’d actually be in the air..."
Now here is finally someone who needs (and can pay for) inflight Internet service :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
127 months ago
Would be a shame if it turned out there was one earlier prototype hehe.
Lol yeah. Little do we know that Woz is sitting on a few still in his garage, waiting for the right moment. Funny thing is he'd probably give them away rather than sell them at these prices.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miknos Avatar
127 months ago
That's more than ludicrous. Ludicrous P100D Model S is only $135K.

If I had the money he spent on that computer, I'd probably buy a house twice as large as what I live in now (outright - no mortgage), a P100D for me and my wife, and a vacation home in Hawaii or something.
But the buyers probably already have all that. All the things you mentioned (maybe apart from the house) will lose value. Buyers bought like it was a piece of art (something scarce).

An analogy would be if you bought that Tesla. For $135k I could buy a Corolla, a Harley, a week screwing ladyboys in Thailand, a penis pump and hire a personal trainer for my wife (anniversary sex is too much for me). The rest I could save for retirement.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...