An Apple Computer business card signed by Steve Jobs has reached the astonishing amount of $181,183 in an auction. RR Auctions, based in Boston, sold this piece of computer history described as “extremely rare and perfectly graded Apple Computer business card signed by Steve Jobs, from around 1983”.
Reviewing other closed RR auctions, we can see that Jobs’ signature significantly increased the selling price of this lot, since a very similar unsigned sample at auction was a comparative bargain at $12,905.
In the images, it can be seen that the $181,000 business card is far from perfect. It appears to have unevenly faded and the listing admits that the item has “a faint stain on the front from an old piece of tape on the back.”
However, the edges and corners still look sharp, and a 40-year-old card could easily show much more varied signs of aging.
Why has Steve Jobs’ card been auctioned for so much money?
It is important to highlight that the provenance of this letter is backed by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). The encapsulation ticket reveals that Steve Jobs’ card is “PSA/DNA Certified” and is classified as “GEM MT 10”.
RR Auctions also boasts that this sample is one of only five known to have successfully passed PSA/DNA authentication. In addition, the signature is perfectly placed and highly legible.
At the time this business card was issued to Jobs, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Apple Computer. He had recently hired John Sculley (from Pepsi-Cola) as CEO of Apple, but it was the era before the Apple Macintosh, when the Apple Lisa was the company’s main personal computer offering.
In May 1985, after some disputes in the management, Jobs was sidelined and ended up without operational functions, only with the title of advisor. He left to start his years at NeXT and founded Pixar, and it took more than a decade for him to return to Apple as CEO.
Several iconic Apple products would be launched in the following years, with the advent of the iDevices. Unfortunately, Jobs died in 2011, at only 56 years old, and was succeeded by the current CEO of Apple, Tim Cook.
