Bay Area woman accidentally junks $200,000 Apple-1 computer

Have you ever thrown away something you regretted later on? If so, you have something in common with the San Francisco Bay Area woman who recently junked a vintage Apple-1 computer — one of just 200 surviving machines created by Steve Jobs and the Woz way back in 1976.

Fortunately the ultra-rare desktop was recognized by a member of the recycling firm she left it at. They sold it to a private collector for $200,000, and now want to track down the unwitting donor to give her the 50 percent they say the company owes.

“[The donor] said, ‘I want to get rid of this stuff and clean up my garage,’ ” the Vice President of the recycling firm told the Mercury News. “I said, ‘Do you need a tax receipt?’ and she said, ‘No, I don’t need anything.'”