A 4GB, factory-sealed, original iPhone just sold for over $190,000 at auction

Imagine the delight you'd be experiencing 16 years from now if you had kept your first iPhone sealed in its original box. An untouched iPhone was sold at auction for an astounding $190,372.80. Many of us can still remember the thrill of pulling off the plastic shrink wrap and opening our first iPhones.

The final bid was $32,783, after several last-minute attempts to win the auction significantly increased the price. Late last year, LCG Auctions sold an 8GB version of the original iPhone, still in the plastic shrink wrap applied at the factory, for $39,339.60 (the sold price includes the Buyer's Premium: an additional percentage fee pocketed by the auction house). Another sealed original iPhone 8 sold at auction for $63,356.40 in February of this year, with a final price of $52,797, after appraisers said it may fetch up to $50,000.

Why then did this specific iPhone wind up selling for $190,372.80, more than three times what the last one sold for, with a final bid of $158,644? First off, it's the 4GB variant of the original iPhone, which retailed for $499 in 2007 and the 8GB model for $599. Given the $100 price difference, the majority of customers chose the larger 8GB model, therefore in September 2007, just a few months after the iPhone's launch, Apple stopped creating the smaller 4GB model, making them much more uncommon today.

Additionally, this factory-sealed original iPhone has some interesting provenance.The consignor "was a member of the original engineering team at Apple when the iPhone first launched," according to the LCG Auctions listing. Given how revolutionary the iPhone was when it was released, it's unknown if the prior owner received the iPhone as compensation for the work they did on its development or if they had to stand in line and buy one like everyone else did. Regardless, it's an extra amusing fact. Future OG iPhone auctions are probably not likely to sell for quite as much, unless it turns out Steve Jobs himself also had an unopened box, given the origin of this iPhone and the fact that it's a 4GB model.