The numbers representing the handwritten serial number on the back of Apple-1 computers were an unsolved mystery for Apple’s first computer. It was unknown who had written the handwritten serial numbers since 1976.
Apple’s co-founders (Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) said that these articles did not belong to them. Likewise, Daniel Kottke, who tested some of Apple-1’s boards, and Paul Terrell, owner of Byte Shop, who bought 50 of Apple-1, claimed that he did not write these articles. Achim Baqué, on the other hand, has been working feverishly since 2015 to solve the mystery and find out who owns the handwriting.
Apple-1’s handwriting mystery: Serial numbers written by Steve Jobs
The Apple-1 may be the world’s most valuable microcomputer because only 200 were produced in two batches of 100. About 82 of them are preserved today, and about 80 of the first batch have a handwritten serial number on the back.
Achim Baqué; He showed these numbers to dozens of people, including Steve Wozniak and the first Byte Shop employees. During one of his visits to Daniel Kottke, Achim Baqué asked him to write sample numbers. Also, Daniel had some postcards and letters from Steve Jobs from the 70’s.
Steve Jobs’ letters and signatures have always produced record results at auctions, so such assumptions had to be handled with great care. Forensic expert opinion was required as evidence. At the end of 2021, Achim Baqué requested the PSA in Santa Ana (California, USA) to conduct two forensic reviews of the serial numbers. (PSA is one of the most renowned companies for sports card evaluation and forensic handwriting comparisons.)
In November 2021, two original Apple-1s were sent to Los Angeles, Germany for repair. was transferred to and stored in the United States until January 2022. Also, PSA collected images of all handwritten numbers and other handwritten samples from Apple-1 computers, and the result was clear: This serial number was Steve Jobs’ handwriting.
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