'Unopened' 1st Generation iPhone Sold at Auction for 82 Million KRW

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The first-generation iPhone, which ushered in the smartphone era by Apple, was sold at auction for over 82 million won, more than 100 times its original price. This is the highest bid ever recorded for an iPhone and far exceeds the expected winning bid.

US auction company LCG Auction announced on the 20th (local time) through its website that an unopened first-generation iPhone was sold for $63,356 (82.23 million won). Considering that the original price of the first-generation iPhone at launch was $599, the winning bid is 105 times the original price. The first-generation iPhone, released in 2007, featured a 3.5-inch display and a 2-megapixel camera.

[Image source=LCG Auction homepage]

The auction for this iPhone, which started on the 2nd, ended the day before. The minimum bid was $2,500. It was expected to sell for at least $50,000 locally, but the final winning bid exceeded that by more than $13,000.

The iPhone put up for auction was owned by Karen Green, a beauty tattoo artist residing in New Jersey. According to Business Insider, Green received an 8GB model of the first-generation iPhone as a gift in the past, but since she was locked into a contract with a carrier that did not support the iPhone at the time, she never opened it and kept it stored. Later, in October last year, Green learned that an unopened first-generation iPhone had sold for $39,339 (51.06 million won) at an auction, which prompted her to put hers up for auction as well.