Unopened first-gen iPhone from 2007 sells for over Rs 52 lakh, over 100 times its original price

Several 1st-generation iPhones in the past have been auctioned for a much higher price as compared to their original price, but none compared to this. The first iPhone was launched in 2007 for $599 (approx Rs 49,574).

iPhone sold for Rs 52 lakh!

Karen Green, a cosmetic tattoo artist, received her 8GB smartphone in 2007 as a token of appreciation for her hard work and the start of a new career. The original iPhone had a 3.5-inch screen and a 2MP camera; today’s top-tier iPhone, by comparison, has a 6.7-inch screen and a 48MP camera and costs more than twice as much.

When Green heard about the increase in prices for sealed original iPhones, she couldn’t help but look at the old device on her shelf and put the original iPhone for auction.

In less than two weeks, LCG Auctions received a total of 27 bids for this iPhone, which began with a starting bid of $2,500.00. It should be noted that the new auction price of the first-generation iPhone is 105 times more as compared to its launch price.

When it first came out, the iPhone only worked with AT&T. It did not work with any other carrier. Green decided to keep the first-generation iPhone sealed because she didn’t want to lose her phone lines at Verizon. After 16 years, her choice to stay with Verizon indeed paid off! She later disclosed that she intends to use the funds to assist her tattoo studio business.

In August of last year, a sealed original iPhone sold for $35,414, and another one sold for $39,340 in the fall. Both went up a lot from the original price of $599 for the 8GB model. Meanwhile, a first-generation iPod, released in 2001, had fetched $25,000 at the auction.