By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 22nd, 2024
The proceeds from the sale will go to the Lilliesleaf museum which shut operations in September 2021 due to financial difficulties.
An NFT marketplace Momint has sold a Nelson Mandela’s arrest warrant NFT, for over $130,000, according to Bloomberg. The floor price was initially set at $61,800 but a $130,000 bid came from a United Arab Emirates foreigner sealed the deal.
The NFT was created from Nelson Mandela’s original arrest warrant issued in 1961. Its original version, now with gnarled edges and multiple staple holes, is handwritten in both Afrikaans and English Language. According to Ahren Posthumus, CEO of Momint, ‘the ink is visible through the paper of the high-definition scan used.”
Mandela NFT Proceeds to Save Struggling Museum
Posthumus also announced that proceeds from the sale will go to the Lilliesleaf museum, which has held the document since 2006. He noted the funds will help keep the museum’s doors open and operations ongoing.
Financial difficulties made the museum shut operations in September 2021. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 that ravaged the world, the tourism sector suffered a huge setback and the museum was hard-hit. The museum has had to resort to selling artificial versions of some of its assets to stay afloat and keep history alive. Also, it previously sold an NFT of a pen gun owned by Oliver Tambo, another freedom fighter. The pen was sold last year for $50,000.
Lilliesleaf farm museum stands as a heritage site for South Africa’s struggle against white supremacy. It served as the secret headquarters of the African National Congress between 1961 and 1963 as it led the anti-apartheid fight. It was at the farm the police arrested the leaders of the movement in 1963.
Nelson Mandela himself hid on the farm for about three months before travelling out of the country to seek foreign aid. He would later go on to become the first black president of South Africa after spending 27 years in prison, following his arrest on August 5, 1962.
Lilliesleaf Farm museum founder, Nicholas Wolpe said:
“This is really a unique and novel way of generating income.”
NFT Museum Launched by Ukraine Government
In a related move, the Ukrainian government has decided to depict the Russian-Ukrainian war using NFTs. The government launched an NFT museum to celebrate the Ukrainian identity and freedom. The museum will receive donations to help Ukrainian citizens through these challenging times. Asides from this, Ukraine has received over $100 million in crypto donations since the start of the war.