Original iPhone from 2007 auctioned for $63,356, topping prior sales

Enlarge / The original iPhone started at $499 for 4GB in 2007. (credit: Getty)

When we reviewed the first iPhone in 2007, one of our top complaints was that the phone was locked to AT&T. At the time, carrier lock-in discouraged Karen Green, a Verizon customer, from opening an iPhone she received as a gift. What was once a limiting inconvenience has led to Green making big bucks, as that unopened iPhone was recently auctioned for $63,356.40—10,477 percent more than the $599 it cost about 16 years ago.

The first iPhone's specs are laughable by today's standards and include 8GB of Samsung flash memory storage, a 2MP camera (decent for a camera phone at the time), and a 3.5-inch LCD screen.

As reported by Business Insider on Monday, Green sold the phone via LCG Auctions to fund her business after seeing how much other unopened first-generation iPhones had sold for recently. In August, one auctioned for $35,414, and in October, another unopened 2007 iPhone sold for $39,339.60. The auction for Green's phone, which closed on Sunday, greatly surpassed those sales.

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