A factory-sealed “Golden Ticket” first-generation iPhone with a unique sticker has sold for $40,320 at auction. The sealed, first-generation had been expected to fetch as much as $60,000 by the end of the auction.
Wright auction house has up for auction a factory-sealed, first-generation iPhone from Donald Gajadhar of Fox-White Art & Antique Appraisals. The box has something that sets it apart from other boxed iPhones.
A red sticker featuring an Apple logo and the words “Lucky you.”
“[It] slowly dawned on me when I held [this] boxed Apple cellphone,” says Gajadhar. “My client not only had an unopened cellphone, but a truly unique version.”
“A Willy Wonka, ’24 karat’ Golden Ticket,” he added.
The origin of the sticker is unknown, and AppleInsider cannot find any record of the packaging being part of an official promotion. However, a reader recently was able to shed some light in an email to the publication.
“I used to work at Apple retail when first gen iPhone was sold,” they said. “If memory serves me correctly, “Lucky You” stickers were available during the holiday season as part of an optional gift box.”
“We used to have pre-cut and folded boxes that fit the products precisely and the stickers to seal them,” they added.
The package’s plastic wrapping has a small hole, meaning the iPhone can’t be considered in mint condition. X-ray images from the Fox-White appraisals firm show that the box’s contents are all there.
The iPhone went for $40,320. In March, a first-generation NOS iPhone still sealed in its box went for $54,904 at auction. The first iPhone sold at retail for $599 when it was first released in 2007.
(Via AppleInsider)
