At the end of last year, employees at Just Clear, a London-based house clearance company, were emptying a property when they stumbled across two very old computers.
At first, the workers were unsure what they had uncovered, but Just Clear’s founder, Brendan O’Shea, told Live Science that, after speaking with an expert, he discovered that his team had found rare pieces of technology history: a 1972 Q1 desktop microcomputer with an internal printer and a 1976 Q1 Lite with an external companion printer.
Created by the New York City-based Q1 Corporation, the Q1 was the world’s earliest microcomputer, featuring a single chip rather than multi-chip microprocessors. It boasted a built-in screen, keyboard and printer.
In February, the newly resurfaced microcomputers went on view in “Creating the Everything Device: Showcasing the Machines That Built the Future,” an exhibition of vintage computers and gaming machines held at Kingston University London. And, right now, the two computers are up for sale at Heritage Auctions. Experts predict they will go for around $60,000 each but, as there is no auction precedent for these items, their value is difficult to predict.
Over the past decade, similarly rare relics of computer history have gone under the hammer at auction houses around the world. In 2022, a prototype of Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, sold for $677,196; in 2023, a fully operational Apple 1 signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak fetched $223,520.
According to Heritage Auctions, the Q1 and the Q1 Lite originally sold for upwards of $90,000 each, making them too expensive for individuals use. Though the Q1 Corporation is now a relic of the past, it’s worth noting that the company’s devices appeared years before today’s major players, including Apple and Microsoft.