Historic artifact dealer Profiles in History announced Thursday it is putting the first Macintosh Plus 1Mb personal computer to come off the assembly line at Apple Computer in Fresno, Calif., up for auction. The computer, which bears the serial number F4200NUM0001, was a gift from Apple to “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry. Profiles in History estimates the auction should pull in between $800 to $1,200.
“With 1Mb RAM (upgradable to 4Mb), it supported the double-sided floppy disk format and was the first Mac with a SCSI port for fast data transfer to and from an external hard drive,” states the listing, referred to as Lot #626. “The Macintosh was the first mass produced computer to utilize the mouse and the Macintosh Plus was the longest-lived Macintosh with production until 1990.”
It features the beige-colored case with 9-inch display and 3.5-inch floppy drive and includes the short keyboard, external floppy drive, mouse and Apple logo padded carrying case. The computer and accessories are accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Gene Roddenberry’s son, Rod.
Introduced in January 1986, it was the third model in the Macintosh line and originally sold for $2,599. It is also noteworthy for having been featured, albeit briefly, in the fourth “Star Trek” film, “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.”
The computer was the first Mac to offer a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) port and was the first of many Apple computers to use single in-line memory modules (SIMMs) for its memory. The original Plus came in Apple beige, though during 1987 the case color was changed to platinum. It was also the last Mac with keyboard attached via coiled telephonelike cable and the last Mac with a mouse attached via DB-9 connector.
A recent eBay search turns up a similar model currently on auction for $25. The listing has received one bid so far. While listed as in working condition, owners of other Mac Plus computers have found other uses for the device, most notably in the form of aquariums, known as MacQuariums.