How much would you pay for a '94 ballot paper signed by Madiba?

28 July 2016 - 17:33 By Buchule Raba

There are plenty of original ballot papers from the historic 1994 election‚ but one in mint condition with late President Nelson Mandela's signature on it could be worth a small fortune. Jeremy Marten from Fish Hoek‚ Cape Town has listed this rare piece of political memorabilia on Gumtree.co.za‚ South Africa's largest online classifieds site‚ with an asking price of R50 000.Marten told TMG Digital that he and his brother are antiques collectors and they bought the ballot paper from another collector three years ago. He declined to divulge the initial price."We bought it because it's a beautiful piece of our country's history and Mandela left a beautiful legacy‚" said Marten.The sale was listed on on Gumtree on July 7.When asked if he was not scared of being condemned for cashing in on the global icon's name‚ he said a lot of people were selling items bearing Mandela's name."We are selling a lot of stuff that is not Madiba related and it's just a coincidence that the sale went up just before election time."Martens said that he would love to see it end up on display in a museum or public space of some kind. He is confident of his price because in 2011 a 1994 ballot paper signed by Madiba‚ FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki sold on auction for R80 000‚ he said.Clare Cobbledick‚ the Marketing Head for Gumtree SA‚ said‚ "there’s always a spike in interest for politically connected items during election periods and anything related to President Mandela automatically generates interest on the site."And when actually searching‚ we found a huge amount of gold Mandela coins‚ a Mandela and (Francois) Pienaar-signed 1995 World Cup rugby shirt and a few canvas portraits‚" Cobbledick said. Martens says he hope that the ballot paper will land in hands that will preserve it for future generations.You can see the ballot paper on Gumtree.Collectable Nelson Mandela autograph on 1994 ballot paper and Certificate of Authenticity | Fish Hoek | Gumtree South Africa | 170816071Very rare and collectable 1994 autograph of late President Nelson Mandela on a blank 1994 ballot paperBallot paper has a fold in itThe autog...170816071Embedly..

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