The Associated Press Auctions New NFTs and Human History emerges as a New, Valuable Market for Collectors

One of the most important features of the blockchain is the permanence of records stored on-chain. When it comes to securing and documenting human history, there has never before been such an important platform. Preserving human history is an ideal role, among many, for blockchain technologies. 

On October 19, MetaList and The Associated Press released The AP UNIQUE Moments Collection.  The NFT collection includes 53 significant historical events from 1921-2021. These NFTs were officially auctioned on the Binance NFT market and were also sold in valuable surprise mystery boxes. 

NFTs of Precious Historical Scenes: NFT-Fi of Major Events in the Last 100 Years

“Undoubtedly, what needs to be remembered most by mankind are the achievements of peace, the breakthroughs in science and technology and the catastrophes that touch the hearts and resolve of all people," said Sharona Lee, the co-founder of MetaList.

One of the NFT works included in the series is the 1944 Normandy landing, the largest and boldest military attack in history and the event that determined the power structure of today’s world. AP’s war correspondents were stationed around the world reporting on the historic battles and AP was the first news agency to report the end of World War II. 

In addition, on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon. The Associated Press dispatched important updates to a waiting world, including the moment that humanity stepped foot on the moon.  That historic “news flash” is included in this collection.

"We want these important stories to last forever and for everyone to see them and understand their significance," said Dwayne Desaulniers, head of blockchain and data licensing at the Associated Press.

"We should remember more than just achievements. Disasters are also mirrors that we should reflect on and thus include in this collection,” Sharona Lee said. "So this auction  includes some NFTs of those agonizing moments as well, such as a photo from 911’s ground zero following the attack. It is historically included for the world to remember, that horrific event which marks its 20th anniversary in 2021.”

NFTs of historical events become a new way to memorialize our history

In addition to these important historical events in the past century, the auction of NFTs also includes historic images of top newsmakers such as Roosevelt, Churchill and JFK. Planet earth and its wonders are also a focus of the collection. Included is the stunning 2018 image of the "Super Blue Blood Moon", a celestial event occuring once every 150 years. 

"There is no doubt that when we collect memories, we are not only just focusing on certain events. The important faces of the individuals involved in the event are also for history and NFTs to document,” said Sharona Lee.

The popular NFT Mystery Boxes

Besides the auctioned NFT works, AP and MetaList released mystery boxes containing some of these valuable NFTs. After the sale started, the mystery boxes were sold out in a short period of time.

Some lucky collectors found surprising and rare NFTs of newsmakers in their boxes, such as Mandela, Che Guevara, Madame Curie and Einstein.

About MetaList Lab

Metalist Lab is based in Australia, and is a world-leading publisher of NFTs. It brings countless outstanding NFT designers together with the top names in encryption technology, and has worked with game companies such as NetEase, news and communications agencies such as the Associated Press, as well as many high-level artists and their IPs. Recently it has been distributing NFTs for NetEase's globally-popular game Naraka: Bladepoint, as well as the “The AP Unique Moments NFT” series.