Owner Comments:
This coin far exceeded our expectations...it is our first five ounce coin and we are so impressed. That being said you also take into account the encapsulation is signed by Charlie Duke...a real American hero...I am speechless...childhood hero of mine...still is. This is awesome!
The space race between the USSR and the USA began on October 4, 1957 with the successful launching of the Soviet Union’s artificial satellite code named Sputnik.
On July 29, 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of N.A.S.A.
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy announces his proposal that our national goal is to land someone on the moon before the end of the decade, thus beginning the Apollo space program which ran from 1961 to 1972 with the first successfully manned flights into outer-space in 1968.
Apollo 11 is launched from Merrit island at the Kennedy Space Center Florida July 16, 1969 by a Saturn V rocket. The crew consisted of Cmdr. Neil Armstrong / Lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin / Command module pilot Michael Collins.
At 20:17 zulu on 20 July 1969 - Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Eagle on the moon while Command module pilot Michael Collins orbited the moon with the command module, Columbia.
At 02:56:15 zulu on 21 July 1969 Cmdr. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon followed Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin just 19 minutes later spending about 2.25 hours outside the space craft. They collected about 47.5lbs of lunar matter to bring back to earth. After spending about 21 and a half hours on the lunar surface they rejoined Pilot Michael Collins and the Columbia, beginning their journey back to earth.
After a total of eight days in space the astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July 1969. This mission effectively ended the space race.
The last Apollo mission (Apollo 17) was launched December 7, 1972.
The 5-ounce Apollo 11 coin is signed by Charlie Duke, who served as CAPCOM for the Apollo 11 mission, and is a First Day of Issue coin.
The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program celebrates the first manned Moon landing on July 20, 1969, and the efforts of the United States space program leading up to this historic event. All coins share common designs and are curved.
The design is by Maine sculptor Gary Cooper, with engraving by Joseph Menna of the Mint.
Joseph Menna was selected to serve as the 14th Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint in February 2019.
The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Five Ounce Proof Silver Dollar struck on the Philadelphia Mint's only Graebener GMP 1000 press and is the first United States coin with a proof finish, reeded edge, and curved shape. It carries a $1 denomination, is composed 155.517 grams of .999 fine silver, is .441 inches in height with a diameter of 3 inches. This coin was limited to a mintage of 100,000 coins and was released 24 January 2019.
Each die for the five-ounce silver dollar initially took 14 hours to make and would strike about 100 coins; this figure was later reduced to 11.5 hours.
Obverse: This design features the inscriptions “MERCURY,” “GEMINI,” and “APOLLO,” separated by phases of the Moon, and a footprint on the lunar surface, which together represent the efforts of the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing. Additional inscriptions include “2019,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “LIBERTY.”
Reverse: This design features a representation of a close-up of the famous “Buzz Aldrin on the Moon” photograph taken July 20, 1969, that shows just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The reflection in Buzz Aldrin’s helmet includes astronaut Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “ONE DOLLAR,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
At the conclusion of sales for this coin program from the U.S. Mint in December 2019, roughly 67,683 of the authorized 100,000 5oz. coins had been sold.