Apple check signed by Steve Jobs in 1976 up for auction

A 47-year-old paper check from the Apple Computer Company – written out and signed by Steve Jobs, payable to Radio Shack – is being auctioned online Friday.

The pre-certified piece of Apple history was listed on the online auction block by the internationally known bidding house RR Auction, based in Boston. The auction opened on November 17th, 2023, and will close on Friday, December 6th, 2023.

The nostalgic paper money appears to have been hand-written by the Apple founder on July 23rd, 1976, for the amount of $4.01.

On the bottom of Wells Fargo check #195, a signature reads ‘steven jobs’ in all lowercase, while the top shows Apple’s first official company address – 770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, Palo Alto, Ca.

The check is made payable to Radio Shack, the popular American nationwide electronics retailer, who first opened its doors in Boston 1921.

“Jobs writes a check to one of Apple's great unsung heroes: RadioShack,” the listing states.

The Welch Road address is well-known by Apple fans to have been “the location of an answering service and mail drop that they used while still operating out of the famous Jobs family garage,” the description reiterated.

The listing continues with some historical background describing the pivotal role Radio Shack played in the evolution of Apple to its existence today.

"The biggest tech innovations of the 20th century are all, in varying degrees, indebted to the Boston-based electronics store," the RR listing explains.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was said to have “spent hours roaming the aisles of RadioShack as a teenager, saving up enough money to purchase their pioneering TRS-80 Micro Computer System."

According to RR, The TRS-80 was used to build an illegal device that made free long-distance phone calls known as the infamous ‘‘blue box,’ which ultimately led to the partnership between the two men.

Jobs had reportedly told his biographer, “if it had not been for Wozniak's blue boxes, there wouldn't have been an Apple," RR said.

“In other words: there wouldn’t have been an Apple if it had not been for RadioShack," it stated.

At the time of this report, the most recent and highest bid for the signed check was listed at $30,250 and so far there are only 25 bids.

To participate in the RR auction, all initial bids must be placed by 6 p.m. EST before extended bidding begins, followed by a final 30 minute rule phase, according to the RR website.

Also being auctioned off in the same 'Fine Autograph and Artifacts' lot is a new-in-box, factory-sealed, First Generation Apple iPhone (8GB), as well as several other Apple items signed by Wozniak.

The most recent bid on the first generation Apple iPhone is $7,604, with 15 bids.

As for Radio Shack, the electronics franchise was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2017, but the company is under new ownership and trying to make a comeback with about 500 stores currently operating across the US.