Crusty Old 2007 iPhone Sells For A Ridiculous Price Of 79 iPhone 14s
An auction for an original first-generation iPhone from 2007 that's still in its original packaging (shrink wrap and all) has ended with a massive winning bid—$63,356.40, to be exact. Just wait until the winning bidder finds out that they could have purchased a sealed iPhone 14 instead for way less. In fact, they could have scored 79 iPhone 14 models for around the same price, based on Apple's starting $799 MSRP.
Of course, the iPhone 14 is not a collector's item, not today and perhaps not ever (though never say never). The sealed 2007 iPhone, however, obviously holds some appeal to collectors. Last October, another sealed first-generation iPhone fetched $39,339.60 at auction. Who knows how much the next one will go for, but if you happen to have one collecting dust, you may want to get in touch with LCG Auctions, the auction house where both OG iPhones pulled in a small fortune for their previous owners.
This latest one sold for 61 percent more than the previous one in part because of its unique backstory. The iPhone that just sold at auction was featured on the Treasure Hunt segment of the syndicated "The Doctor & The Diva" TV show back in 2019. At the time, one of the hosts estimated the sealed iPhone's value at $503. Another host reckoned it was worth three times as much, while an actual antiques appraiser that appeared on the show said it was worth $5,000.
Karen Green is the name of the person who just scored a massive payday. Why had it remained sealed for all these years? Green, who is now a tattoo artist, received the iPhone as a gift from her friends to celebrate getting a management job at Petsmart. However, she had just purchased a smartphone. Additionally, she was signed up with three phone lines at Verizon at the time, and the original iPhone was exclusive to AT&T.
While certainly a thoughtful gift, Green didn't have a use for the iPhone, so it sat unopened for over a decade and a half. During an interview with Business Insider, Green explained that she finally opted to sell it so she could generate money to put into her cosmetic tattoo studio named Tattician, which is located in New Jersey.
So, there's the backstory. It's also worth noting that this particular iPhone is the 8GB model, which in 2007 sold for $100 more than the 4GB model (Apple would later add a 16GB SKU). Not that the specs really matter, as this $63K iPhone may never leave its sealed packaging, let alone be turned on and actually used.
