This 1972 computer sold for £37,179 in auction: Why this rare machine matters
What looked like forgotten electronics inside a London home turned out to be a rare piece of computing history, with its eventual auction price highlighting its significance.
- Oct 6, 2026,
- Updated Oct 6, 2026 10:07 AM IST
A computer dating back to 1972 fetched £37,179 (roughly ₹47.37 lakh) at auction after being discovered years later during a routine house clearance in London. The machine is not just old, but it is one of only three known surviving Q1 microcomputers, making the discovery particularly unusual for collectors and computing historians.
The computer was found in 2023 along with another Q1 machine and a companion printer, all buried under boxes inside a property. The discovery eventually brought the machines back into public view before they were put up for auction. For a device created more than five decades ago, its final price also offers a glimpse of how much value rare early computing hardware can hold today.
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Why this 1972 computer is so unusual
The machine is a 1972 Q1 microcomputer, and it came with an internal printer. A slightly newer Q1 Lite was also found during the same London house clearance, along with a separate printer designed for the Lite model.
London-based house-clearance company Just Clear made the discovery. The machines were later displayed at Kingston University in February 2024 as part of an exhibition titled “Creating the Everything Device: Showcasing the Machines That Built the Future”.
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The Q1 arrived at a time when computer technology was beginning to move towards smaller, microprocessor-based machines. Its 1972 launch also places it four years before Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs introduced the Apple 1.
One machine crossed the £37,000 mark
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions eventually put the three devices up for auction with no reserve. Since the Q1 had never been auctioned before, there was no earlier sale price to show how much collectors might be willing to pay.
The 1972 Q1 with its internal printer ended up selling for £37,179. The Q1 Lite sold for £8,316 (roughly ₹10.59 lakh), while its companion printer fetched £1,175 (around ₹1.49 lakh).
Interestingly, the Q1 was already an extremely expensive machine when it was new. Its original cost would be equivalent to more than £70,000 (around ₹89.15 lakh) today, meaning it was far from an ordinary consumer purchase.
Heritage Auctions described the Q1 as an important early development in computing. Kingston University's Paul Neve also highlighted how computers from the 1970s and 1980s helped lay the foundations for the machines people eventually used for work, communication, productivity and entertainment.
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A computer dating back to 1972 fetched £37,179 (roughly ₹47.37 lakh) at auction after being discovered years later during a routine house clearance in London. The machine is not just old, but it is one of only three known surviving Q1 microcomputers, making the discovery particularly unusual for collectors and computing historians.
The computer was found in 2023 along with another Q1 machine and a companion printer, all buried under boxes inside a property. The discovery eventually brought the machines back into public view before they were put up for auction. For a device created more than five decades ago, its final price also offers a glimpse of how much value rare early computing hardware can hold today.
Must Read: Anthropic brought a Hindu monk to San Francisco to help Claude tackle AI ethics and consciousness
Why this 1972 computer is so unusual
The machine is a 1972 Q1 microcomputer, and it came with an internal printer. A slightly newer Q1 Lite was also found during the same London house clearance, along with a separate printer designed for the Lite model.
London-based house-clearance company Just Clear made the discovery. The machines were later displayed at Kingston University in February 2024 as part of an exhibition titled “Creating the Everything Device: Showcasing the Machines That Built the Future”.
Must Read: Florida woman used Claude as a ‘diary’. What happened next landed her in trouble
The Q1 arrived at a time when computer technology was beginning to move towards smaller, microprocessor-based machines. Its 1972 launch also places it four years before Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs introduced the Apple 1.
One machine crossed the £37,000 mark
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions eventually put the three devices up for auction with no reserve. Since the Q1 had never been auctioned before, there was no earlier sale price to show how much collectors might be willing to pay.
The 1972 Q1 with its internal printer ended up selling for £37,179. The Q1 Lite sold for £8,316 (roughly ₹10.59 lakh), while its companion printer fetched £1,175 (around ₹1.49 lakh).
Interestingly, the Q1 was already an extremely expensive machine when it was new. Its original cost would be equivalent to more than £70,000 (around ₹89.15 lakh) today, meaning it was far from an ordinary consumer purchase.
Heritage Auctions described the Q1 as an important early development in computing. Kingston University's Paul Neve also highlighted how computers from the 1970s and 1980s helped lay the foundations for the machines people eventually used for work, communication, productivity and entertainment.
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine