Thought to Be Lost Forever, Banksy's Iconic Wharf Rat Masterpiece Has Been Found and Restored and Will Be Auctioned During Three Day NFT Drop

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Banksy's iconic masterpiece Wharf Rat appeared in 2010 on San Francisco's Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf. The artwork was painted on a metal door and depicted a rat digging its way out of a tunnel, right next to the Alcatraz Boat Tour station just across the water from the infamous prison island. Unfortunately, the City of San Francisco Department of Public Works painted over the door, and it was thought to have been destroyed and lost forever. Until now.

A meticulous fan of Banksy was able to recover the piece and entrust it to professional restoration facilities, where art experts were able to uncover the original piece using the most on-point restoration techniques. The lost masterpiece has been saved from destruction and will now become NFTs, enter the Blockchain where it shall embody the will to freedom forever, displaying the crypto community's core values of independence, resourcefulness, and persistence.

Thanks to a partnership between B. Creative (Robert Baek), Whonose, Daoz.eth, TokenArt, 3DScanLA, and Cosmic Wire (who recently sold Banksy's Spy Booth as a hybrid NFT for $610,000), the collection of NFTs will be released over a period of three days beginning on December 17th at 10:00 PM PST (December 18th at 07:00 AM Paris Time), with each day consisting of different opportunities to participate in unique drops.

For more information or to participate in the auction or sale, and to sign up for the greenlist for the fragments NFT drop, please visit: www.banksysratnft.com

In order to stay true to Banksy's values, 20% of the project's funds will be donated to two associations selected by the original collector behind the Wharf Rat project: Center for the Pacific Asian Family, a charity committed to ending domestic and sexual violence in Asian Pacific Islander (API) communities by breaking through language, cultural, and institutional barriers; and Miry's List, a movement of neighbors and friends dedicated to welcoming new arrival refugee families into a community through inspired crowdsourcing solutions.

Here is a detailed roadmap of the three-day rollout:

Day 1 (December 17th at 10:00 PM PST / December 18th at 07:00 AM Paris Time): The metal door featuring the artwork with fascinating details, valued by a professional and independent appraiser of the American Society of Appraisal at $700,000+, will be auctioned along with a 1-of-1 NFT for a period of 24 hours. The recent Banksy sales through cryptocurrency have reached record high sales, going largely over the estimated price. The metal door has brochures from the art creation era at the back, and scuffs and rough marks of wear from being on the pier facing Alcatraz for so long. Winning the auction will guarantee the transfer of the physical piece along with the 1 of 1 NFT. By owning the token, you will own the unique video shot in the preview, the official appraisal documents and provenance, the historical details and bits of hidden knowledge surrounding the piece, as well as a 3D LIDAR High Resolution scan of the piece to ensure it is preserved forever. The phygital NFT is also powered by a bespoke "Legal by Design" Smart Contract from TokenArt, effectively binding the Physical piece to its digital twin in Law.

Day 2 (December 18th at 10:00 PM PST / December 19th at 07:00 AM Paris Time): Once the 1 of 1 auction closes, a public sale of collectible fragment NFTs of the virtual door will be put up for sale. There will be a total of 333 Wharf Rat fragment NFTs up for grabs at a price of 0.33ETH, each with a limit of 4 NFTs per collector (supply after the greenlist drop will not be guaranteed, register on the website for more information). The NFT will reveal an interactive 3D fragment of the Wharf Rat virtual door. Each fragment NFT will grant you one voting right over the future uses of the unique NFT of the Virtual Door, effectively forming a DAO around the legacy of the piece. The token type and smart contract enabling the DAO are also an innovation brought to the space by TokenArt.

Day 3 (December 19th at 10:00 PM PST / December 20th at 07:00 AM Paris Time): To allow access to the drop to anyone, we are offering a great NFT "relic", but only for 24 hours. Upon sellout of the fragments, or 24 hours after the public sale starts, an open edition of NFTs featuring a 360 Video of the Wharf Rat virtual door will go up for sale. This open edition will be available to purchase for 24 hours at a price of 0.033ETH each. Once the timer hits 24 hours, the total minted supply will be the final number of collectibles in existence.

For more information, please visit:

Website: https://banksysratnft.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/hFnP7zhqpc
Medium: https://medium.com/@BanksysRatNFT
Twitter: https://twitter.com/banksysratnft

SOURCE Cosmic Wire