An unopened first-generation iPhone from 2007 still in its original box has sold for more than $39,000 at auction

Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up the new iPhone that was introduced at Macworld on January 9, 2007.David Paul Morris/Getty Images

• A first-generation iPhone from 2007, still unopened in its original box, has fetched more than $39,000 at auction.

• That's more than 65 times its original price of $599, or roughly $860 in today's dollars.

• The phone has a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, and the Safari web browser.

If you had bought the first-generation iPhone when it debuted in 2007, it would've cost you $599. Fifteen years later, someone is paying almost $40,000 for the same thing.

An original iPhone just sold for $39,339.60 at auction. It was unused and unopened, still in its original sealed box.

"Collectors and investors would be hard pressed to find a superior example," the item description read. "Relevance and rarity comprise a winning formula for this red hot collectible."

The tech relic was listed on LCG Auctions on September 30, and the auction concluded Sunday. It was estimated to fetch $30,000 or more on the auction block. Its price at sale is more than 65 times its original price when the phone first came out.

Bidding started at $2,500. Hours before the auction ended, the top bid hovered around $10,000, but bidding ramped up as the auction neared its close.

Unveiling it 15 years ago, late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs called it "an iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator" all in one. The first-generation iPhone came with a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, and the Safari web browser; it was initially available with only 4 GB or 8 GB of storage, but later had a 16 GB option.

Apple's best-selling product has come a long way since then. The newest iPhone today, the iPhone 14, has a 6.1-inch screen, a 12-megapixel camera, and up to 512 GB of storage. It retails for $799.

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