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Rarity of the original Apple II

falter

falter

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I'm curious about this and have googled around without getting a definitive answer. How 'rare' is the original Apple II (not the II+)? I haven't seen one on ebay for years... I think maybe I've seen one there ever, and with that one it was tricky because there weren't good shots of the case and who knows if the guy forgot the +. I wonder too if they'd be tough to search for even if they were there given that putting 'apple II' in ebay's search field calls up all kinds of stuff.

Anyone know? Anyone want to ballpark what a decent condition one would be worth, and where you'd have the best chance of finding one?
 
I honestly don't know. I've been looking for an original II for a long time myself. The II+ is dirt common, but the II is a rare beast - part of the fact is that they didn't sell that many, and, since so many people upgraded them to II+'s. The only *real* difference is the system ROM. Heck, even if you found a machine with a II lid, it's probably got II+ ROMs. I have seen one machine on eBay in recent memory, but it was really a II+ with a II lid - the bottom sticker gave it away.

Now, another rare machine is the Apple IIgs Upgrade - it's a IIgs in a IIe case, sold as an upgrade. It was a replacement lower case pan and logic board to fit into a beige IIe case, along with replacement Apple logo stickers to identify it as such. It's not as rare or desired as the II, but it's another one that doesn't show up too often, and similarly is hard to search for on eBay.

-Ian
 
I seem to recall a discussion a while back about the rarity of some Apple II's, specifically some detail about some of the earliest II's having green expansion slots rather than the typical black ones. I suppose, if I'm remembering correctly, that this would make a good method of identifying the system.

I do remember seeing one of those IIgs upgrade machines going through eBay a couple years back, and I seem to remember it fetching some decent coin at the time too, definitely a rare beast. Honestly though, I've seen far more of the bare 'upgrade' boards listed, as well as the IIgs badges that fit the beige IIe case than I've ever seen complete systems.
 
Yeah, I think the "rev 0" board had green expansion ports - that was a *really* early II board, and was not used for very long. Most original II's won't have one of those.

Most of the "upgrade" boards you see are just pulls from regular IIgs's. All the Rom0 and Rom1 machines had the solder pads for the keyboard connector/IIe power connector, and about half the ones I've seen have the connectors installed already. I also think that the "replacement part" boards all had the connectors fitted as well - this allowed a dealer to use the same board, no matter what machine the customer had.

The IIgs name badges are unique to the upgrade - perhaps they were a dealer part? I dunno.

-Ian
 
I have a computer buyer's guide book from 1981 which claims that (at least at the time of its publication) Apple was selling the II and II Plus alongside each other, for the same price. If that's true, maybe they simply had a stockpile of non-Plus Apple ][ logo plates which they wanted to use up. The average user with a Language Card and a Disk ][ probably wouldn't have known the difference anyway.
 
not particularly rare, - there is one one ebay at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-II-A2S001...106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a948dda

That is, unless you are looking for a rev 0 system (serial # <= approx 6000) with original components, in which case, they appear about as often as Apple 1s, (2-3 times a year). The difference is that the same Apple 1's seem to reappear more frequently than one would expect.

A2s and A2 pluses were in production at the same time for a while During this time they were same machine with different ROMs and markings. Many production changes were made over the life the product line. Many systems had parts replaced over the years with later version parts which were all compatible with the earliest systems.

Selling prices are all over the map, depending upon originality, condition, version, and the phase of the moon. Caveot Emptor.
 
I meant to ask about the Bell & Howell apples too.. anyone know what they've been selling for recently? I saw one on ebay that had an opening bid at $199 and did not get a single bid... it had school carvings on the side and missing key and apparently did not start... where would you price something like that vs. a mint one? (I kinda prefer well used -- to me it gives more context)
 
mwillegal said:
not particularly rare, - there is one one ebay at the moment.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-II-A2S001...106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a948dda

That is, unless you are looking for a rev 0 system (serial # <= approx 6000) with original components, in which case, they appear about as often as Apple 1s, (2-3 times a year). The difference is that the same Apple 1's seem to reappear more frequently than one would expect. </quote>


<Quote>
A2s and A2 pluses were in production at the same time for a while During this time they were same machine with different ROMs and markings. Many production changes were made over the life the product line. Many systems had parts replaced over the years with later version parts which were all compatible with the earliest systems.

Selling prices are all over the map, depending upon originality, condition, version, and the phase of the moon. Caveot Emptor.
Click to expand...

$1300!! I'd like to have one, but maybe not at quite that much. Seems to me the ebay listings where people ask the 'going rate' don't get any hits at all. Probably not a seller's market right now. I've never seen an Apple I on ebay. They seem to be all over the place -- one fetching what was it, $250k? One previous was offered at $40k and attracted no interest at all (and by urban legend was offered to Steve Jobs himself, who supposedly said he'd had enough trouble selling them the first time).
 
I meant to ask... what`s the normal value range for a Bell & Howell Apple II+? I saw one (non working, missing a key and stuff scratched into the side) go with no bids and a starting bid of $199. I tend to try and buy less than perfect or non-working (most of the time they sit static anyway, and it's fun to try fixing them) -- so I wondered if the B&H was rare enough to warrant that kind of price even though it didn't work.
 
How can you determine if the ROMS in an Apple II have been replaced with the ones in a II+?
We have an original II here and it would be cool to see if it's still a true II.
 
NeXT said:
How can you determine if the ROMS in an Apple II have been replaced with the ones in a II+?
We have an original II here and it would be cool to see if it's still a true II.
Click to expand...

Pull out all the cards and turn it on. If you get a screenful of random characters, you have an original ][ ROM. If you get the Applesoft BASIC prompt, you have the ][ Plus ROM.

The original ][ did not have "autostart", so when you turned it on you'd get a screen of garbage text. Then you'd hit Reset and it'd put you into the Monitor program (* prompt). Then you'd hit Ctrl-B then Return and finally you'd get the Integer BASIC prompt.

I believe there may have been an intermediate revision of the ][ which added autostart, but still only had Integer BASIC in ROM. Also, adding a Disk ][ controller card will give you autostart on any ][, even the earliest revision.
 
vwestlife said:
I believe there may have been an intermediate revision of the ][ which added autostart, but still only had Integer BASIC in ROM.
Click to expand...
If you had a ROM card with Applesoft on it, it also included autostart. So you could slide in the card to your II, and get Applesoft on ROM, plus autostart. No revision necessary.
 
I also just remembered that somewhere along the line between the ][ and the ][ Plus, Apple added the "color killer" circuit, which disabled the chroma burst when in text mode, so you wouldn't get rainbow-streaked text on your screen all the time. They also published details of the modification, so that users could add it to their original ][.
 
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