
Apollo 17 Flown Robbins medal graded NGC MS-68, realized: $60,000. Images by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Hover to zoom.
Except for a handful of Robbins Medals from the historic Apollo 11 moon landing mission, this lot represents the highest price realized through a Heritage auction for a Silver Robbins Medal.
Another Robbins medal, an Apollo 10 Flown example graded NGC MS-66, realized $55,000. It is pedigreed to John W. Young, who was Command Module Pilot on that mission, in which the Lunar Module descended to within a few miles of the moon’s surface. The May 1969 mission has often been called a dress rehearsal for Apollo 11 two months later. Young was the first person to fly on six space missions, dating from Gemini 3 in 1965 to the Space Shuttle program in the early 1980s.
Meanwhile, an Apollo 13 Robbins medal graded NGC MS-68 and pedigreed to astronaut Jack Swigert realized $10,000. The flown medals from that harrowing mission were melted down and restruck in order to add the name of Swigert (who was a late substitution for the mission) and to remove the section for the date of the mission’s moon landing (which was scrubbed).

CAG-certified piece of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer. Realized: $23,125. Image by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
Meanwhile, a CAG-certified piece of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer realized $23,125 in the sale. The rudimentary aircraft flown by the Wright Brothers in 1903 is celebrated for kicking off the modern aviation era, and pieces of it are cherished by collectors.
CAG is an affiliate of NGC dedicated to preserving the provenance of historical artifacts. CAG certified the provenance of this particular example from Otto Kallir, a renowned collector of aviation history who had obtained enough of the wing fabric to build a small model of the Wright Flyer.
CAG has also certified The Armstrong Family Collection, which comprises thousands of artifacts saved by astronaut Neil Armstrong and his immediate family. Armstrong Family Collection highlights from this sale included:
- a Gemini 8 Flown Fliteline medal graded NGC MS-63 and certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection that realized $8,750
- an Apollo 11 Flown Beta Cloth segment certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection that realized $4,000
- an Apollo 11 Manned Flight Awareness medal graded NGC MS-68 and certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection that realized $3,500
- an Apollo 11 Original NASA “Red Number” photograph of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection that realized $2,500
- an Apollo 11 Original NASA “Red Number” photograph of the Lunar Module Preparing to Dock with the Command Module that was certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection and realized $2,500.
“NGC and CAG give buyers confidence in the authenticity, provenance, and condition of their collectibles,” said Mark Salzberg, chairman of NGC and CAG. “Buyers pay more for this confidence as shown by the results of the NGC and CAG-certified collectibles in this sale.”“
Prices realized include buyer’s premium and are expressed in U.S. dollars.
Press release courtesy of the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.
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