This unopened first-generation iPhone is worth P1.74 million or even higher

An unopened first-generation iPhone (model A1203) box from 2007 has been put up for auction with a starting bid of $32,000 (P1.74 million). It was sold for $40,320 (P2.2 million).

Wright Auctions, a platform specializing in modern and contemporary design, estimates the 2007 iPhone to fetch anywhere between $40,000 to $60,000 (P2.17 million to P3.26 million).

The auction house's starting bid is $32,000 (P1.74 million) up to $1.1 million (P59.88 million).

"This original, factory-sealed iPhone features 8GB of storage. Packaging includes an inverted Apple 'Lucky You' sticker," Wright Auctions posted on its website.

The item, which traces its provenance to a private collection, will ship from Chicago, Illinois. Although its packaging remains unopened, an X-ray image shows the box's contents.

"[It] slowly dawned on me when I held [this] boxed Apple cellphone...my client not only had an unopened cellphone, but a truly unique version. A Willy Wonka, ‘24 karat' Golden Ticket," Fox-White Art & Antique Appraisal's Donald Gajadhar said.

In February, LCG Auctions sold a 2007 first-generation iPhone for $63,356.40 (P3.4 million) after 27 bids were placed starting at $2,500 (P137,000).

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs announced the first-generation iPhone on Jan. 9, 2007.

This was marketed by Jobs at the time as an "iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator. These are not three separate devices. This is one device...and we are calling it iPhone."

The Apple product was named by TIME Magazine as "2007 Invention of the Year."