In 2021 a total of more than $40 billion of NFTs were minted on the Ethereum blockchain according to a report from Chainalysis. By many accounts, this is an extraordinary figure, considering that sales of digital art were relatively minuscule prior to last year. Driving some of this growth is the popularity of collections such as Cryptopunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club that have gone “viral.”
Celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and Steph Curry are all owners of the well-known NFT called Bored Apes. These NFTs have even made it to the traditional art auction houses, selling a single lot of 101 Bored Apes at Sotheby’s in September 2021. This lot sold for about $24.4 million, more than $6 million above the high estimate. With sales like these, many people have wondered what makes some Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs so valuable?
As many enthusiasts in the space know, not all of these digital collectibles are created equally. That’s because each of the 10,000 Apes in the collection has its own set of unique features, called traits, that vary in how rare they are considered. These traits are divided into 7 categories: Background, Fur, Hat, Clothes, Eyes, Mouth, and Earrings.
With such a high number of possible trait combinations, you might be wondering how to determine which traits and combinations of traits are the most rare. Fortunately, rarity.tools is a website that dedicates itself to ranking collectible NFTs like the BAYC by rarity. The website assigns a ranking and rarity score to each Ape, with the higher the score, the higher the rarity of the NFT.
In this article, we take a look at the 10 rarest Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, according to rarity.tools.
Rarest Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
1. Bored Ape #7495
Rarity Score: 364.42
The rarest Bored Ape is BAYC #7495, notable for traits such as the dagger in its mouth, a cyborg eye, a cross earring, and Dmt fur. Only 49 apes feature a dagger in the mouth, while only 219 apes feature Dmt fur style. Despite this Bored Ape’s rarity, it has not been sold since it was minted in April of 2021.
2. Bored Ape #3953
Rarity Score: 353.09
Bored Ape #3953 is the second-rarest Bored Ape asset. It was purchased for 18.88 ETH on May 1st, 2022 and isone of just 28 apes with an unshaven beard and pizza in its mouth.
3. Bored Ape #9606
Rarity Score: 341.57
#9606 is another Bored Ape asset with an unshaven beard and pizza in the mouth. Pransky minted this ape and it appears to have been transferred a few times, but there is no public sales history on OpenSea. The rest of the attributes on this Ape aren’t extremely rare, but being one of only 28 apes with this mouth, it maintains this rarity position.
4. Bored Ape #7616
Rarity score: 334.42
The fourth-rarest asset in the Bored Ape collection is #7616 and has yet to be sold by the owner who minted it. Its rarest attribute is its trippy fur which only 83 apes feature. Other rare traits include a cross earring, black tee shirt, and cowboy hat.
It is currently listed for 2,000 ETH or $4.9 million
5. Bored Ape #4873
Rarity Score: 332.9
Bored Ape #4873 is the fifth rarest asset in the collection, minted by Pransky. The item has been transferred a few times but there is no public sales data on OpenSea for the asset and it is currently not listed for sale. This NFT is one of only 46 apes with sold gold fur. The army hat and tie dye shirt are also relatively rare traits.
6. Bored Ape #8811
Rarity Score: 320.3
Bored Ape #8811 is the 6th-rarest asset in the BAYC collection and hasn’t sold since it was minted in April 2021. It is currently not listed for sale. #8811 is one of only 28 apes with the dagger in its mouth, and one of just 233 apes with a Bored Ape Yacht Club flipped brim hat.
7. Bored Ape #8135
Rarity Score: 190.20
Bored Ape #8135 sold in September 2021 for 550 ETH, roughly $1.9 million at the time. Compared to all other Bored Apes, rarity.tools ranks #8135 as the 7th most rare. The Ape’s “Bored Unshaven Dagger” mouth and “Trippy Captain’s Hat” can be found in only .28% and .65% of Apes respectively. Bored Unshaven Dagger is ranked #2 among all mouth types, and Trippy Captain’s Hat is ranked #1 among all eye types. It is interesting to note that the Bored Unshaven Dagger mouth type ranks #4 among all traits.
8. Bored Ape #446
Rarity Score: 313.35
Bored Ape #446 is the 8th rarest Bored Ape in the collection and is currently not for sale. This NFT is one of 65 apes with a Trippy Captain’s Hat and one of 119 apes with a cowboy shirt, along with a Cross earring, Zombie Fur, a Phoneme Vuh mouth, and Sunglasses.
9. Bored Ape #2087
Rarity Score: 312.34
The 9th-rarest asset in the BAYC collection has sold twice since its mint, most recently selling for 769 ETH on September 29th. This NFT is one of 78 apes with Trippy Fur.
10. Bored Ape #73
Rarity Score: 311.62
The 10th rarest NFT in the project has sold once for 30 ETH on June 8th, 2021. This NFT is one of only 46 apes with solid gold fur and one of 89 apes with a Blue Bandana. It also features a vest and a gold stud earring.
Interested in Investing in Rare Art?
The sale of NFTs have fallen 92% since the peak in September, according to the data website NonFungible. Unlike the volatile and nascent market of NFTs, the blue-chip art market has experienced a season of record-breaking auctions, including the sale of the Macklowe Collection by Sotheby’s for $922 million.
Art, especially blue-chip art, is viewed as a long-term inflation and recession hedge, as real assets often maintain their value despite rocky market conditions. Masterworks is the first platform making it possible to invest in fractions of blue-chip contemporary artworks.
