A non-fungible token generated from Nelson Mandela’s original arrest warrant raised 1.9 million rands ($130,000) in an auction to help build a cultural monument devoted to the democratic struggle in South Africa.
Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who served 27 years in prison before becoming South Africa’s first black president, was imprisoned in 1962 for attempting to overthrow the White-minority government.
Ahren Posthumus, CEO of Momint, the NFT platform where the Mandela NFT was sold, told that the earnings from the sale would help the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, which received the original document as a gift in 2004.
Nelson Mandela’s actions will never be forgotten
Posthumus indicated in an interview that this helps “museum sites stay afloat.” “The lack of visitors as a result of Covid has had a big influence on them; as a result, this is a way of re-energizing their flow while conserving history.”
Mandela was released from prison in 1990, and the first multiracial election was held four years later.
The buyer of the NFT, according to Posthumus, will have exclusive access to the original document in the Liliesleaf Museum. “The ink is visible through the paper,” he observed of the high-definition image.
Since 1961, the Liliesleaf property on Johannesburg’s outskirts has served as the African National Congress’s secret headquarters, where Mandela and other party members have concealed from authorities.
Handwritten letter & drawing by Nelson Mandela to be sold as NFTs
Starting March 9, 2022, several artworks and a handwritten letter by Nelson Mandela will be offered as NFTs.
The “My Robben Island” NFT edition drop is named after the Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela had to spend 18 of his 27 years in detention.
The NFT includes five vibrant watercolors by Mandela after he stepped down as president in 1999 and The Motivation. This handwritten essay outlines his vision of the severe island jail. According to an article in The Guardian, all six paintings carry his signature.
According to The Guardian, Nelson Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe Mandela claimed her father’s watercolors showed “the victory of the human spirit.”
“When my father was on the island, he was surrounded by grey,” she explained. Remember that he was given a life sentence. He never imagined he’d be able to leave prison. But the paintings tell us not to be discouraged.”