"It is only to be expected that with the death of the first democratically elected South African president, people want to have at least a small token as a reminder of the great man," says bidorbuy CEO Jaco Jonker.
"We have seen a rise in the number of searches for key words such as 'Mandela', 'Mandela coins', 'Mandela R5'. Those are currently the top three searches on the site, with the term 'Mandela signed' not far behind."
Up to 12 December 2013, the sales of Mandela-related items on the site have increased by more than 65% percent. By far the most popular are the so-called Mandela R5 circulation coins, especially the 2008 birthday coin, as well as silver and gold medallions, followed by a variety of autographed objects.
"Visitors to bidorbuy are not only buying more Mandela-related items; they also seem to be prepared to pay more for them."
Between 6 and 12 December, twenty-five items attained prices of over R10,000. About half of them were won on auctions, while the rest were sold at a fixed price. The most expensive were a 2007 Gold Protea Mandela and De Klerk Nobel Peace Prize Winners Set, sold for R47,000 and a 2004 Gold Proof 1oz $500 Mandela Sierra Leone Coin, won on auction for R32,000.
A soccer shirt signed by Nelson Mandela and Lucas Radebe found a buyer for R12,500, while a photograph signed and dated by the former president went for R22,100. A "Mandela for president" poster from 1994 elections, though unsigned, fetched as much as R1000 on auction.
The site is also experiencing a steady increase of the number of Mandela-related items on offer by sellers on the site, with about 200 Mandela memorabilia items and over 1700 Mandela coins listed. Fifty or so of them have the price tag in the vicinity of or well over R100,000.
