US Woman tosses $200K Apple 1 computer into recycling

A California recycling center is searching for a mystery woman who discarded a rare Apple computer worth $200,000.

The collectible computer – an old Apple I – was discovered at the bottom of a box of electronics she dropped off at the Silicon Valley recycling plant, in California.

The woman, believed to be in her 60s, told staff the hodgepodge of electrical equipment was from her garage, which she had cleaned out after her husband had died.

Victor Gichun, the vice president of Clean Bay Area in Milpitas, California, said the mystery woman did not want a tax receipt or leave her contact information with staff.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that staff discovered the true value of her donation.

The Apple I was one of only about 200 first-generation desktop computers designed and sold by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne in 1976.

Steve Wozniak hand-built the computers in a garage. The Apple co-founders sold their desktop computers for $666.66 each.

Only a few dozen are known still to exist.

Agencies/Canadajournal