Apple Computer Check No. 1 Signed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Reaches $161,000 at Auction

A little piece of paper, roughly 7.5 by 3 inches, is carefully tucked away, looking like new, and graded Mint 9 by PSA/DNA. This temporary check from Wells Fargo, dated March 16, 1976, bears the number “1” and represents the first withdrawal from Apple Computer Company’s original bank account. Steve Jobs signed it with his initial name in lower case, Steven Jobs, and Steve Wozniak countersigned with his full name. It’s made out for $500 to Howard Cantin.

Cantin, an Atari PCB layout engineer at the time, was tasked with taking Wozniak’s bare-bones Apple-1 schematic and converting it into a viable printed circuit board design. He utilized a technique known as “hand tape and component placement” to route the traces and install the components properly. This essentially provided Apple with a solid platform for their first product, a bare board kit aimed at enthusiasts affiliated with the Homebrew Computer Club. On the back of the check, Cantin has written his own endorsement “Howard V Cantin” and obtained the bank’s stamp to indicate that the transaction went through.

This single payment was made 16 days before the actual partnership agreement was signed on April 1st, 1976, when Jobs, Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded the company, with a 45-45-10 ownership split and every spending beyond $100 requiring approval from both. However, it demonstrates that the company was already in action, having been funded by the fast selling of personal items, as Jobs sold his VW bus and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator, even though he only received half of the sum immediately. These revenues opened the Wells Fargo account and, more importantly, paid for an important piece of design work.

Later checks from the same account included the first official Apple address (770 Welch Rd, Suite 154, Palo Alto), as well as an answering service and mail drop. Meanwhile, the two were still working out of the Jobs family garage. The Apple-1 was debuted in July 1976 at $666.66, and it sold approximately 200 units, ushering in the Personal Computer era. Cantin’s printed circuit board was the key to all of this, transforming Wozniak’s hand sketched designs into something that could be manufactured.

Collectors will tell you how uncommon this is, as another early check (No. 2, just a few days later) sold for more than $135,000 at a previous auction. This is the first one, and it is estimated to earn more than $500,000 in RR Auctions’ current The Apple 50th Anniversary Auction, which runs until January 29, 2026 as part of Apple’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Early bidding has already generated a lot of interest, hitting $161,000 in the first week.