Late former South African President Nelson Mandela may be no more, but his legacy still lives on. The first black president of South Africa has had a gold cast of his hands sold for a whopping $10 (£7m) in bitcoin.
Mr Mandela was jailed for 27 years for fighting white minority rule in South Africa. He was released in 1990 and served as president from 1994 to 1999. Mr Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. He had turned into a global brand, with businessmen and artists cashing in on his name.
The Gold made hand from 20 pounds of 99.999 pure gold, the casts include three life size impressions of Mandela’s hands and two others of his palm and fist, cast by Harmony Gold Mining in 2002.
Canadian crypto-currency exchange firm Arbitrade bought four casts from South African businessman Malcolm Duncan.
The firm said it planned to launch a global “Golden Hands of Nelson Mandela” tour to educate young people about the anti-apartheid icon’s life.
Arbitrade chair Len Schutzman said the purpose of this is to educate audiences about the abolition of apartheid that Mandela led.
“The collection celebrates not only the remarkable contributions of Nelson Mandela to humanity each year, but also all that has been done by South Africa in supporting gold and the mining industry though the years. The company plans on orchestrating a global tour exhibiting the Golden Hands in national museums around the world to celebrate the life and legacy of a man that meant so much to so many.” Schutzman said in a statement.
