A first-generation, unopened iPhone from 2007 fetches $39,000 at auction

• A first-generation iPhone from 2007, still unopened in its original box, fetched more than $39,000 at auction.
• That’s more than 65 times the original price of $599, or roughly $860 in today’s dollars.
• The phone has a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera and a Safari web browser.

If you bought First generation iPhone when it debuted in 2007, it would have set you back $599. Fifteen years later, someone is paying almost $40,000 for the same thing.

The original iPhone just sold for $39,339.60 at auction. It was unused and unopened, still in the original sealed box.

“Collectors and investors would be hard-pressed to find a superior example,” item description read. “Relevance and rarity make for a winning formula for this hot collectible.”

The technological relic was listed on LCG auctions on September 30, and the auction ended on Sunday. Was estimated at $30,000 or more on the auction block. Its sale price is more than 65 times the original price when the phone was first released.

Bidding started at $2,500. A few hours before the auction ended, the highest bid hovered around $10,000, but bidding increased as the auction drew to a close.

Discovering it 15 years ago, the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs called “iPod, telephone and Internet communicator” all in one. First generation iPhone it comes with a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a Safari web browser; it was initially available with only 4GB or 8GB of storage, but later had a 16GB option.

Apple’s best-selling product has come a long way since then. Latest iPhone today, iPhone 14, has a 6.1-inch screen, a 12-megapixel camera and up to 512GB of storage. It retails for $799.