Disposing of Apple II collection

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Disposing of Apple II collection

I need some advice on disposing of an Apple II collection. About 15 years ago, I rescued a bunch of Apple IIs which were being disposed of at a school. I had hoped to do something with them but they have remained in my attic almost since I recovered them. I am now moving home and I need to dispose of most of them.

The problem is that I am not really an Apple II person. I don't know a lot about the models, the various revisions and their value. I know that all the machines are PAL specification and include one Europlus unit and several Apple IIes. In addition, the stuff I have includes quite a few peripherals including monitors, floppy drives and Z80 cards. I know even less about them.

I am planning to take them all out of the attic and inspect them in the near future. I was wondering what details are necessary to identify the models and revisions? I also would like some advice as to how I can sell/donate them.

- KG

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

It would be best if you could make a list of what you have and maybe add some pictures too. There are so many different revisions it will be hard to tell you with out more information.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

If they are from a school they most likely are not going to have any rare/valuable cards in them. You should probably give your general location (or specific if you'd be interested in someone stopping by to see what you have and help you), as that'd make a difference. I assume you're in Europe?

If in the US, I'd say sell on ebay, the best way to get the most money with little knowledge about them, would probably be to figure out how to power one up and test it, then list them with good pictures on an auction, maybe list 1-3 at a time, don't list too many at once. People usually look over the pictures and figure out if they have anything rare. I'm not sure if there'd be a better place in Europe?

My only question is, I'm not sure if there are the bidders outside the US. In the US I rarely see a bid item go much under what it's worth, unless they had horrible pictures or description. I would assume this is the same, but don't watch too many.

You could always post pictures here, many would be glad to help you appraise what you've got (for free), and help you get it all powered up and tested, if you got stuck somewhere.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

I am based in Ireland. I think that I'll report back here whenever I get a proper look at the machines and the associated bits and bobs.

- KG

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

If there will be a Apple ii Color Composite Monitor or a IIGS RGB Monitor available, then i'm interested.
(if shipping to Germany does not cost an arm or a leg)

-Jonas

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

I am afraid that I don't have any colour monitors. Sorry.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

I'm interested in a WildCard Plus if you have one.
(I already have the WildCard 1 and II)

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

-- The serial numbers on the bottom of the computers will provide some information.

-- The computers will be either Apple ][s, Apple ][ Plus, Apple //e, or Apple //c computers. The labels will be on the tops of the computers and quite obvious. The use of brackets and slashes to denote the number "2" is the way Apple did it.

-- There are several Apple //e variants. The earliest versions had keyboards with white lettering. Later, the keyboards had black lettering. Later still, the label on the power light (one key to the left of the space bar) sported the word "Enhanced" to denote some new ROMs and a slightly different CPU. Last, the "Platinum" model was gray instead of beige and had an integrated numeric keypad. The pre-Platinum //e computers had an optional "80 column card" that allowed the user to switch from a 40 character line display to an 80 character line display. There were many variations of this card, but they're all quite small and fit in a special slot, the one closest to the power supply. Many third party vendors made cards for this slot that provided 80 column capability as well as other features. Cards by Applied Engineering are sought after.

-- There are three possible types of Apple 5.25" diskette drives. The oldest, the "Disk ][" models, are in stamped metal enclosures with black faceplates with a colored Apple logo. A gray or rainbow colored ribbon cable is permanently attached to the drive and ends in a cable header. Later drives were sleeker, molded plastic and had DB-19 cables. Last, the "Duo Drive" was two drives in one case sized to sit perfectly on top of the computer. Note that the original, metal drives and the newer, plastic and Duo drives used different controller cards.

-- There were some 3.5" drives made for the Apple // series. These required a special controller card and are rare.

Although they were last made in 1993, Apple made a LOT of these computers and they are easy to find and inexpensive (some delusional eBay sellers notwithstanding) even today. The earlier Apple models before the //e are the most valuable, although the //e computers (especially the "enhanced" and Platinum versions) are more useful for people who actually want to play with and/or program them. Obviously, computers in good cosmetic shape will command a higher price than those with heavily discolored cases, broken-off keys, and so forth.

Prices are quite volatile and depend on the phase of the moon as much as anything else. In general, a good working Apple //e computer with some scuffs and discoloration will sell for well under $100. A complete system with a monochrome monitor, 80-column card, and two functional drives could command $150-$250 depending on condition. A mint condition //e "as new" but not NOS could bring $400 (what I paid for mine), while an NOS unit in the box is kind of a crap shoot; sometimes they can top $1,000.

Hope this helps, and I'm sure the other folks here will correct any mistakes I've made.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

Thanks for your guidance. It will be helpful in terms of spotting what I have.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

I'm resurrecting this old thread after several years because I have finally got my hands on the computers and the various other parts I had in storage. I haven't tested any of them because I suspect that they will need some TLC to get them back into shape and I don't want to damage them. Anyway this is what I have:

Apple II computers (PAL models)
-------------------------------
Apple II Europlus - with Disc II interface card and language card. Damaged keyboard. Serial No: 649179.
Apple IIe (Rev 607-0264-E) - with AIIe 80 column/64k memory card, Glenmire Network card. Serial No: 151231.
Apple IIe (Rev 607-0288-D) - with AIIe 80 column/64k card, Z-Engine, Apple I/0 controller. Serial No: 350143.
Apple IIe (Rev 607-0294-F) - with AIIe 80 column/64k card, CIRTech Z80 Issue 3, Glenmire Network Card. Serial No: N/A.
Apple IIe (Rev 607-0294-F) - with AIIe 80 column/64k card, Z-Engine, Glenmire Network Card. Serial No: 383494.
Apple IIe (Rev 607-0294-F) - with AIIe 80 column/64k card, Z-Engine. Serial No: 383401.

Peripherals
-----------
Apple Duo Disk (A9M0108) - Serial No: 300960.
Apple Disk II (A2M0003) - Serial No: 564726.
4 x Apple Monitor II

Spares
------
2 x Apple II speakers
1 x Apple II 50Hz Power Supply (699-0161-A)
1 x Apple IIe keyboard (broken)

Expansion Cards
---------------
1 x ALS Z-Engine
1 x Apple II 3.5" floppy disk drive interface
1 x Apple IIe 80 column/64k Card
2 x Apple Parallel Printer Interface Cards
1 x CIRTeach Z80 Issue 3
3 x Glanmire Electronics Network Interface Cards
1 x Rossa 80 column/64k Card

I don't have any boxes or manuals. I have some 5.25" discs but I don't know if they work. All the equipment is quite dusty with the exception of the loose expansion cards. So any ideas as to how best to dispose of the collection?

-- KG

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

Where are you located? I don't think that PAL IIe were used in the US... I'm interested in the serial-numbers of the IIe (can often be found on a sticker on the mainboard next to the PSU) and maybe i want to have one or 2 of the IIe depending on the serial number.

The "Apple II 3.5" floppy disk drive interface" might be worth a lot of money ($200-$400) if it is the complex version (lost-of-chips) for 1.44mb drives.

-Jonas

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

I'm based in Ireland. What do you mean by serial numbers? Are they different to the ones on the bottom of the case?

The 3.5" drive interface is the basic one capable of handling 800k disks.

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Re: Disposing of Apple II collection

Yes, the serials are something like a production number of the mainboard and seem to be continuous as far as i have seen. Since most of the boards have a date code stamped as well, one could calculate the sales of apple IIe per year. Im looking for european IIe from 1987-1993. Photos would be very cool. I haven't seen this 607-0294-F revision so far...

-Jonas

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