A 1983 “Apple Computer,” business card signed in black ink by Steve Jobs sold for $181,183 on Thursday, according to RR Auction. It’s the highest price a business card has ever sold for, spokesperson Mike Graff said in a statement.
The off-white business card was listed as the “extremely rare, perfectly graded Steve Jobs-signed Apple Computer business card from circa 1983.”
RR Auction
The card features a retro rainbow logo for the company and has Jobs printed as “Steven Jobs” with his title listed as chairman board of directors. The company’s address and contact information are listed below.
“The sale of the Steve Jobs-signed Apple business card for over $180,000 sets a new standard in autographed business cards,” Executive vice president at RR Auction Bobby Livingston said in a statement. “It’s a testament to the enduring legacy of Jobs and the profound impact of Apple on our modern world.”
RR Auction has previously auctioned 10 Steve Jobs business cards, with only one dating back to 1983. This is the only signed card from that year and one of the only cards that has passed PSA/DNA authentication.
RR Auction
The site has a range of items on sale under the auction title, “Steve Jobs and the Apple Computer Revolution.” It includes a large rainbow logo display originating from the Macintosh Factory, original iPhones, laptops, and other artifacts from the tech giant.
Jobs cofounded Apple in 1976 and led the company until six weeks before he died in 2011.
The founder was known for not giving autographs, which is why items with his signature have sold at such a high price. According to PFC40 Autograph Index, which tracks the top 40 most sought-after autographs since 2000, Apple’s founder has the highest value autograph of a deceased person, with Stephen Hawking under him.
While $181,183 for a retro business card may sound like a lot, it’s a fraction of what other items signed by Steve Jobs have sold for.
A typed two-line letter signed by Jobs sold for $479,939 in 2021. A $175 check signed by Jobs sold for $106,985 in May 2023. The check was expected to sell for $25,000 and recieved a final bid of $85,558.
RR Auction
Even unrelated items to Apple, like a movie ticket to “Pirates of the Caribbean” with a barely legible signature from Jobs, sold for $14,653. A”Toy Story” movie poster with Jobs’ signature was also auctioned for a $25,000 minimum bid.
The largest sale so far went to original signing documents for Apple Computer Corporation. The documents were signed by Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
It sold for $1.3 million to Eduardo Cisneros in 2011, a few months after Jobs died.
