Steve Jobs' 1968 Science Project Sells for $34,375 After He Left It Behind

Q: What hidden childhood artifacts is Steve Jobs' stepbrother still hoarding for future high-stakes auctions?

There is no public evidence that John Chovanec is still holding undisclosed “hidden childhood artifacts” of Steve Jobs for future auctions. What is documented is that Chovanec has repeatedly sold items Jobs left behind at the Los Altos family home after declining to retrieve them following Paul Jobs’ death in 1993. The newly sold eighth-grade science fair project, “What is the SCR?,” is one such item. Chovanec has said Jobs effectively gave up claim to some belongings when he told him, “Fine, but I don’t want to be bothered about it again.” Auction records and related coverage show the known cache has included posters, magazines, bow ties, a desk, and other personal effects. In the same broader sale period, Chovanec-linked items also included a note Jobs wrote to his father on a NeXT business card, a 1984 Macintosh, a 1979 Apple II, and a rainbow Apple logo suncatcher. Other Jobs-related lots from the anniversary auctions included signed business cards, personal electronic components, and letters, though not all were necessarily from Chovanec. So the factual answer is limited: Chovanec has already been monetizing a stash of authentic Jobs memorabilia for years, but no reporting identifies a secret reserve of additional childhood artifacts beyond the categories already disclosed. Any suggestion of what he is “still hoarding” is speculation, not established fact.

3 articles · Updated · Boing Boing · Aug 28

$34,375 bought Steve Jobs' eighth-grade science project, a 1968 display titled “What is the SCR?” with a 10-page report, diagrams, test circuits and a wooden semiconductor model.
The project reached auction because Jobs declined to retrieve belongings left at the Los Altos family home after Paul Jobs died in 1993, reportedly telling his stepbrother to keep them.
John Chovanec, Jobs' stepbrother, sourced the item and has previously sold other early Jobs memorabilia, including bow ties that fetched $113,580.
Prices for Jobs artifacts can run far higher: a 1977 Apple Computer poster sold for $659,900 and an Apple-1 Byte Shop wooden case owned by Jobs brought $254,375.