A rare gold medal that travelled on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon realized more than $2.5 million USD (about $3.3 million Cdn.) at an auction held on the mission’s 50th anniversary.
It’s one of the highest prices ever paid for a medal and the highest price realized to date for any item from the Armstrong Family Collection, which comprises items saved by astronaut Neil Armstrong and his immediate family members.
The gold medal is called a “Robbins” medal, which each astronaut had struck to accompany them on their missions, beginning with Apollo 7.
On their obverse, the Robbins medals feature the insignia of the mission for which they were made while the other side depicts an eagle landing on the lunar surface.
The ‘flown gold’ is graded Mint State-67. (Photo by Heritage Auctions)
Only three Apollo 11 gold Robbins medals – one for each astronaut on the mission – were struck.
The example recently offered at auction was brought to the moon by Armstrong, who became the first man to walk on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. The medal was graded as Mint State-67 by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, while its affiliate, the Collectibles Authentication Guaranty, certified its provenance to the Armstrong Family Collection, which has realized more than $11 million US at auction altogether.