A job application form from 1973 from apple co-founder Steve Jobs is on the auction block with physical and digital versions up for sale.
Steve Jobs’ handwritten application for an unknown job back in 1973 is up for sale again. It is unknown what the job Jobs were applying for, where the job was, or if he got it or not. What is known, however, is that this piece of paper has been sold many times in recent years for a significant amount of money. In March 2017, it sold for $18,750, in 2018 for $174,757, and again in March 2021 for $222,400.
The page-long application was written by the late Jobs three years before he, and Steve Wozniak, founded Apple. The application states that Jobs is skilled in both computers and calculators but not so much with typing machines.
Pitting physical and digital collectibles head to head
What sets this auction apart from previous sales of the application is the addition of an accompanying non-fungible token (NFT). According to the listing, both the original physical copy and a digital version in the form of an NFT will be sold side by side. The goal, according to auction organizer, Olly Joshi, is to see which version holds more value in the current market. “The Steve Jobs hand-written 1973 job application auction aims to highlight the modern shift in perceived value — the physical or the digital,” Joshi said in a statement.
The auctions will be run on different platforms with the digital version being sold on Rarible and the physical version via Joshi’s own website.
The auctions will run for seven days and went live at 9:41 a.m. PT on July 22. That specific time was chosen because it was the time that Jobs picked to reveal new Apple products at official events and is also the time featured on the clocks of Apple products.
At the time of writing, the physical copy of the application has a current bid of $14,000 while the digital version’s highest bid is sitting at $635. A portion of the final sale will be donated to the Cancer Research Institute and One Laptop Per Child charities.