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First trade sign: $18,000
This wood-framed, Plexiglas sign was auctioned off for $18,000, but it was literally thrown in the garbage three decades ago.
It was Apple's first trade sign, which the company hung up at trade shows when it was showing off its computers, beginning with the Apple I in 1976. Eventually, the eight-foot, four-inch long sign was placed in front of the company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
Steve Jobs ordered a replacement, though, and threw the old one in a dumpster. Thomas Liggett, Jr., Apple's employee No. 114, rescued the sign and kept it in his house until he sold it in 2008.
- Last updated September 04 2012 06:50 AM ET
