On Sat, 5 Aug 2023, Bill Degnan via cctalk wrote:
Something has to be the most sought-after thing in every collectors' hobby. The Apple I is not historically significant enough alone to justify the prices they get, there is a cultural/memorabilia component too. Just rare enough to form an elite "market". It's an indicator that computer age collecting is healthy and robust. The Apple I prices help support all vintage computer prices, if you're into all that.
Maybe see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good Gordon