Steve Jobs' Old Birkenstock Sandals Are Up For Auction

The past few months have seen an increase in the number of old Apple products and Steve Jobs memorabilia raking in huge sums of money at auctions. Back in July 2022, a Boston-based auction company put up the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of an Apple-1 prototype that belonged to Steve Jobs on auction. An unknown bidder lapped up this tiny piece of archaic hardware for an eye-popping amount of $677,196. While most of us will never understand why someone would spend that kind of money on such an object, there is no denying the historical importance of the Apple-1. Many people believe Apple could not have become the behemoth that it is today had it not been for the Apple-1. Additionally, what made this Apple-1 PCB even more special was the fact that it was hand soldered by Steve Wozniak.

A few months later, another auction house — LCG Auctions — put up an unopened box containing the first-generation iPhone for auction. More than 15 years after its launch, people had a chance to buy the first-gen iPhone in brand-new condition. While bids for this product started relatively low ($2,500), this decade-and-a-half-year-old product ended up with a winning bid of $39,339.

Now that we have established the burgeoning market for Apple and Steve Jobs memorabilia, we might as well add that almost every auction house on the planet is seemingly wanting to capitalize on this. What else would explain the reason behind the folks at Julien's Auctions putting up a pair of soiled Birkenstock sandals owned by Steve Jobs for auction?

In contrast to the unopened first-gen iPhone that recently went under the hammer, this particular piece of Steve Jobs memorabilia isn't exactly in pristine condition. In fact, Julien's Auctions is very forthcoming and confirms that "the cork and jute footbed retains the imprint of Steve Jobs' feet," and that the sandal's rubber soles "show heavy wear" from Jobs clearly wearing them in his day-to-day life. However, these things would hardly matter to the rich Apple fanboy who'd end up buying this. As of drafting this story, bids had already crossed $22,500 — with the auction house expecting a final bid anywhere between $60,000 and $80,000.

According to the auction house, Steve Jobs wore these sandals for an extended period of time between the 1970s and the 80s. It also adds that these Birkenstocks have witnessed a lot of "pivotal moments" in Apple's history — including its founding in 1976, when Jobs is believed to have frequently worn these sandals. He would wear this pair well into the mid 1980s. Job's Birkenstock sandals have participated in several exhibitions in the past, including the Salone del Mobile in Milano, Italy, in 2017, and the History Museum Württemberg in Stuttgart, Germany. It was also on display at the Birkenstock Headquarters in Rahms, Germany, and also at Birkenstocks' first United States store in SoHo, New York.

If you are a Steve Jobs fanboy with exceptionally deep pockets, you might want to head to Julien's Auctions and place your bid to get hold of this unique piece of Jobs' memorabilia.