It has been 13 years since Steve Jobs died, but the Apple founder’s celebrity hasn’t faded one bit.
An auction this weekend had a collection of rare Jobs-signed items and each one went for a premium—but none more so than a 1983 business card, which sold for $181,183. That’s considerably more than the $10,000+ RR Auction had expected it to sell for.
The card was a rarity and one of the earliest business cards bearing Jobs’ signature. To date, there are fewer than five Jobs-signed Apple Computer business cards that have been authenticated.
“The sale of the Steve Jobs-signed Apple business card for over $180,000 sets a new standard in autographed business cards,” said Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, in a statement. “It’s a testament to the enduring legacy of Jobs and the profound impact of Apple on our modern world.”
Fetching just a bit less was a check signed by Jobs. In 1976, that check was worth $13.86 to Elmar Electronics. It sold for $176,850. The check pre-dated the official founding of Apple Computer. It was likely used to purchase electronic components that were used in the construction of the first Apple-1 prototypes. Because the company did not yet officially exist, Jobs wrote “Apple Computer” as well as the address of his Palo Alto garage in the top left corner.
The pre-auction estimate for the check was $50,000+.
Jobs typically did not sign autographs, but made an exception for a random fan in 2003 who swapped his seat during a showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl so Jobs and his family could all sit together.
“I was seated at the back of the room patiently waiting for the movie to begin when a man accompanied by some children tapped on my shoulder and kindly asked me if I could move by one seat so that they could all comfortably sit together. I gladly accepted and while I was moving, I suddenly realized that I had just spoken to Steve Jobs,” read a letter from the original recipient that accompanied the item. “I did not want to potentially upset him before he could happily enjoy the movie, so I chose to wait until we were leaving the room to address him. … His response was ‘Sure’ and as I had no paper on me, the only thing I could hand him was a pen and my movie ticket that he signed in the palm of his hand.”
That ticket stub sold for $14,653.