Classic and rare old mobile phones worth thousands – do you have one?
Vintage handsets can be absolute goldmines. The most valuable prototype iPhone 1 can sell for up to £30,000 – and if you have the original box it’s worth even more
Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Your first mobile may have cost nothing compared to modern smartphones of today, but that old “brick” could actually be thousands of pounds.
Antiques marketplace LoveAntiques.com has compiled a list of the most valuable “vintage” mobile phones with the highest price.
Topping the list is a rare version of the first iPhone – which is worth a staggering £10,000, according to Wales Online .
There are also possible windfalls in store for those who still have old Motorolas and Nokias too.
So check your drawers as you could own old technology worth a fortune.
The 10 most valuable mobile phones are:
1. Pre-production Prototype iPhone 1 – £10,000+
2. Motorola 8000x- £800 – £3,500
(
Image:
Bloomberg via Getty Images)
3. Nokia 7700 – £1,000 – £2,000
4. Mobira Senator NMT- £800 – £2,000
(
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
5. IBM Simon Personal Communicator- £800 – £2,000
(
Image:
Getty Images)
6. Nokia Sapphire 8800 – £500 – £2,000
(
Image:
Nokia)
7. Technophone PC105T – £600 – £1,500
8. Orbitel Citiphone- £600 – £1,000
9. Ericsson R290 Satellite Phone – £300 – £1,000
10. Rainbow StarTAC – £100 – £400
Small factors like software, model, cult status and rarity are just some things that can make an old mobile phone valuable.
Experts say that the prototype iPhone 1 has been known to fetch up to £30,000. However, many post-production iPhones have had different software installed – making them less valuable.
Top tips about collecting old mobile phones
- Check the condition of the phone – items in their original packaging, with their original paperwork and accessories will fetch more money
- Find the unique selling point of the phone – icon status and tech milestones are far more valuable than age alone
(
Image:
Nokia)
- Understand the tech. Many old phones either don’t work due to the battery having expired or no longer being able to connect to a network, this is not necessarily a bad thing – but make sure to understand why it no longer works
- Study the phones – most importantly make sure to understand the differences between models that have barely been altered, it could make a vast difference to the price.
Will Thomas, of LoveAntiques.com said: “It is safe to say that there are some weird and wonderful models out there, some I’m sure a lot of people today wouldn’t even know were phones and yet they can be worth an enormous amount.”
Earlier this week the Mirror reported that pupils in England could be banned from bringing phones to school as soon as January 2022.
Ministers are targeting the start of the year or after the Easter holidays in 2022 to ban phones.
It comes after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson last week announced a consultation into banning phones at England’s schools.
