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July 14th, 2022 | Submitted by @masonmarcobello |
Although there's no shortage of notable collectors in the Rare Pepe community, few have the foresight or conviction to hodl what have since become infallible grails in the CryptoArt movement. However, as a believer in tokenized assets, the new virtual economy, and the "internet of NFTs" - a pseudo-anonymous collector that goes by the alias TokenAngels is one shining example.
As the current owner of the 1/1 HOMERPEPE (otherwise known as "The Mona Lisa of Pepes"), TokenAngels also amplified the power of dank memes with the sale of PEPENOPOULOS at the 2021 Sothebys Natively Digital despite the hype surrounding BAYC at the time. Given his long-standing involvement and love of Rare Pepes, it seemed only fitting to gain TA's perspective on the collection in the following interview.
Interview:
MM: When did you first hear about Rare Pepes and what inspired you to get involved?
TA: I heard about Rare Pepes when I started collecting NFTs in 2019, but it was only after reading Jason Bailey's article about the origin of CryptoArt on his blog that I started to focus on them. When I began collecting NFTs, I knew about this project on Counterparty, but I was pretty lazy to have to deal with a new form of crypto, blockchain and wallet.
However, it wasn't until I did my homework that I truly realized their historical importance. When I joined the Telegram channel, I found a welcoming community that, since 2016, has upheld the most important CryptoArt project in a friendly, funny and very underground way. I spent weeks watching all the cards, each reflecting a historical, social, or economic event of the past years. I eventually understood that I ccouldn't be considered a serious collector without giving credit to all those artists and notable people that came before me.
MM: Do you remember (or still own) your first Rare Pepe card?
TA: Yes, sure. I collected my first Rare Pepe, the Nakamoto card (the first of the 1774 cards), a little over one year ago, on the 5th of January 2021. It's an edition of 300, and we like to say that the collectors owning one of these join the "300 Club". Btw I still own 9 of them ;)
MM: Given your deep knowledge of Rare Pepes, where do you see the future direction of the collection?
TA: I don't think of myself as a Rare Pepe expert. All scientists, artists, and early adopters have more extensive knowledge about the collection than I do. But regardless, you can't imagine how much the community collaborates to create new cool features for Rare Pepes like marketplaces, auctions on Telegram, info sites, running Counterparty, etc.
With the final "FEELSGOODMAN" card added in 2021 by the creator of Pepe the Frog, Matt Furie, the original collection has come to a close. Although there are ongoing developments like Fake Rares, for the most part, I believe that it's time to educate everyone new to NFTs about the OG projects like Rare Pepes and Spells of Genesis.
(During October 2021 Matt Furie worked with NFT marketplace chainsaw.fun to introduce the FEELSGOODMAN Rare Pepe card (shown above). In recognition of the longstanding discrepancies between Bitcoin and Ethereum maximalists, the NFT’s team of creators released it on both the Bitcoin blockchain (via Xchain) and Ethereum).
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MM: As the current owner of the unique Homer Pepe, can you share any insight as to when you bought it and the personal significance outside of being widely sought after?
TA: It all happened at the end of February 2021 when Matt Kane minted an artwork on Super Rare called "CryptoArt Monetization Generation". He posted the image on Twitter (that featured the Homer Pepe), and Rare Scrilla (one of the core Rare Pepe artists), commented that the owner of Homer Pepe just messaged him, saying he was thinking of selling the card.
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I contacted Scrilla immediately, and we created a group chat with the owner of the card Peter Kell. When we agreed on the price (205 ETH), I then asked Joe Looney to escrow it to give even more importance to that special event. I remember in those days, everyone was excited and distracted about some Beeple drop. So I was able to snipe the Homer Pepe partly due to Beeple's hype. Thanks, man! Apart from being one of the only seven unique Rare Pepes (I owned 4 of them, just sold Pepenopoulos at Sotheby's), the Homer Pepe is also the card that sold in 2018 during the first Rare Digital Art Festival, aka Rare AF, aka Rare as Fuck, for around 30k. Mashable, Vice and many other notable media outlets were covering it.
That sale was crucial for CryptoArt because it made more creators and people in the space gain confidence that they could sell their work as NFTs. Homer Pepe also has a feature in “Feels Good Man”, the 2020 American documentary about Matt Furie's Pepe The Frog. That's why many consider it one of the most historic NFTs in the world.
MM: What do you believe is the most underrated and undervalued aspect of Rare Pepes?
TA: Absolutely PEPECASH, one of the 1774 cards that also is used as an in-collection currency to acquire the other cards. I compare Pepe Cash to Dogecoin, actually Pepe Cash is backed by the most OG CryptoArt community and project in NFT land. I only wish that Elon knew about it :p
MM: What are some of the key metrics you look for when buying or analysing any potential Pepes for your portfolio?
TA: I follow my heart. Ultimately, a card should make me feel something. Of course, I tried to collect some of the rarest cards. But there are also some with a larger supply that you fall in love with. When you collect a card, you become part of a small community with other like-minded holders.
MM: Could you impart any words of advice for people new to the NFT industry who might feel a little intimidated or confused?
TA: I advise any collector willing to learn more about Rare Pepes to join the Telegram group and the Discord channel. You'll find a unique, friendly community, smell real CryptoArt and have a lot of fun - all things sorely lacking in most other projects.
Rare Pepes are probably the only project you can keep collecting your entire life life without getting bored. There's a card for each one of us and for different periods in our lives. As human beings, every one of us is inherently rare. So be Rare AF with the OGs.