A non-fungible token (NFT) of Nelson Mandela’s 1961 arrest warrant has sold for $130,000.

The NFT was auctioned by the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site and the money is to help maintain the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site, a farm where Mandela and other leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s hid from authorities. 

The original document, dated 1961, is handwritten in both English and Afrikaans, and had been preserved at the Liliesleaf Farm heritage site archives in Johannesburg since around 2006.

The reserve price for the document was initially 900,000 rand ($61,800) at the March 26 night auction in Cape Town. However, the NFT sold for 1.9 million rands ($130,550). 

The founder of the Liliesleaf Museum, Nicholas Wolpe, says the museum still needs about $1.7 million before it can reopen.

“Based upon all historical figures to clear all the debt and to provide for at least for the next year or two,” Mr Wolpe said. “There needs to be repairs, exhibits need to be fixed, and then the day-to-day operations, paying for salaries and getting the place back on its feet.”

In February, five watercolours paintings by Mr Mandela were put up for sale as NFTs. The collection “My Robben Island” was made after Mr Mandela stood down as president in 1999.

The collection was offered by Bonhams at a fixed price of $3,495 for the edition or $699 for individual work.