While very old Apple computers often become lots in various auctions, this time a very rare item was put up for auction. We are talking about the prototype Apple Macintosh computer of 1983. Its rarity is due to the fact that Steve Jobs once ordered the destruction of all such prototypes.

A 1983 Apple Macintosh with serial number M0001 will be auctioned at Bonhams in New York on October 23. It is one of the few pre-production units known to feature a 5.25-inch disk drive, called Twiggy, and was eventually abandoned due to reliability issues. When serial Macs were released in 1984, they were equipped with a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.

The conditioned copy is not only preserved, but also fully functional. The prototype comes with a number of unique accessories, including a keyboard with a hand-written serial number, a prototype Apple M01000 mouse with a separate connector, and a Twiggy floppy disk called Mac Word. And all of this was running under the control of an operating system that was not yet completed at that time.

Final bidding for the upcoming auction is expected to be between $80,000 and $120,000, but experts in the category suggest that the final price will exceed expectations and, in fact, break all auction records for all Apple computers sold.