Will Seippel | December 20, 2024

It doesn’t have to be old to be sold…

This rare factory-sealed first-generation 4GB Apple iPhone recently sold at auction for $18,000.
This rare factory-sealed first-generation 4GB Apple iPhone recently sold at auction for $18,000. Image Source: Live Auctioneers

Having spent most of my career in the vintage and antique space, I primarily collect and sell older items. The history of an antique desk or an art deco piece of jewelry is just part of the appeal for collectors. Whether it’s a piece of art, a vintage fur coat, or an elegant pocket watch, age is appreciated by many.

However, not everything that goes under the hammer is old or antique. One of our valued WorthPoint Industry Partners, Grogan and Company, recently held an auction of a first-generation iPhone, still factory-sealed from 2007. This one-item auction proves that something doesn’t have to be decades old to have value. The seventeen-year-old phone sold for $18,000. The owner had never activated or opened the phone—it had been on a shelf since 2007 and was in pristine condition, making it extremely rare.

Do you have an older iPhone or other tech sitting around gathering dust? Check out the WorthPoint Price Guide to see how much it could be worth.