Nelson Mandela Arrest Warrant Sells As $130k NFT

Nelson Mandela’s 1961 arrest warrant recently sold as $130,000 NFT in NFT marketplace Momint. The proceeds of the sale go to Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, which received the original document in 2004 as a donation.

Nelson Mandela’s arrest warrant sold off as NFT to help fund heritage site

Proceeds of the sale will help fund Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, according to Ahren Posthumus, CEO of Momint. This helps the “museum sites stay afloat,” Posthumus said in an interview by Bloomberg. With the business disruptions caused by Covid-19, the funds will help revitalize the site and “keep history alive”.

Additionally, the buyer of the NFT will gain exclusive access to the original document at Liliesleaf Museum. “The ink is visible through the paper of the high-definition scan,” said Posthumus.

Liliesleaf Farm served as a safe house for ANC activists who fought together with Nelson Mandela

In the 1960s, Liliesleaf Farm was a suburb outside Johannesburg. It was a safe house for African National Congress activists at that time. However, South African police raided the farm in 1963 and arrested several ANC leaders and activists. They were later tried and prosecuted in the Rivonia Trial.

First arrested in 1961 for treason, Nelson Mandela went through several trials and arrests before the judge sentenced him to prison in 1962. Later in 1963, he became one of the accused in the Rivonia Trial together with other ANC activists arrested from the Liliesleaf Farm.

Mandela spent the first 18 of his 27 years in jail at the brutal Robben Island Prison. After he stood down as president in 1999, he painted the My Robben Island, which reflected his personal take on the place. Just this month, Bonhams auction house sold off his paintings as NFTs on the Nifty Gateway platform.