MILPITAS, Calif. -- A recycling centre in the Silicon Valley is looking for a woman who dropped off an old Apple computer that turned out to be a collectible item worth $200,000.

Victor Gichun of Clean Bay Area says the woman dropped off boxes of electronics that she had cleaned out from her garage after her husband died.

She didn't want a tax receipt or leave her contact information, and it wasn't until a few weeks later that workers at the recycling centre opened the boxes to discover an Apple I (one) computer inside.

The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bayareane.ws/1QiwrkE) it was one of only about 200 first-generation Apple computers made in 1976.

Gichun sold the computer to a private collection, and he wants to split the proceeds with the mystery donor.