From Numismatic News -- Apollo 11 commemoratives sought for 2019 Any thoughts on what should/could/must be on each denomination? I think it'd be neat if they shared a common obverse that shows the lift-off moment, perhaps with three different viewing angles/perspectives. As for the reverses, I have a few ideas for each denomination. It'd be nice to see the moonwalk stylized on the silver dollar because of the large surface area with which to work. The Saturn V rocket or LM could go on the clad half. And finally, for the gold coin, something of note needs to be used. Some new/fresh artwork to be done with the official Apollo 11 patch in mind might work. It certainly has the potential to be a great set for almost all US collectors' tastes. I really hope the Mint does it justice and doesn't find a way to mess up what seems like such an easy commemorative!
A worthy program if the proceeds are going to a worthy organization. I see no mention of that in the article. If it's going to the Christa McCauliffe Planetarium in N.H. then I'm all for it. I would be all for it in that case.
Thinking outside the box here. How about as you line up the three coins from biggest to smallest, you get a complete Saturn V rocket on the launch pad (cluttered up with necessary inscriptions, of course). The reverses can have another similar triptych showing the landing. The challenge would be making each artistic on its own as well as the set as a whole.
CCAC has not shown any design up for concentration yet. 2016 Mark Twain has been shown But not 2019 that I have seen. I guess we have to wait til there some submitted to see.
Interesting. Thank you for the heads up Miedbe7!!! Here's a pic of yours truly talking with Buzz Aldrin about a page of the log of Apollo 11 that I own. From having talked to 11 of the 24 men who went to the Moon (including 6 of the 12 moonwalkers), they all talk about how it was really a huge team effort with somewhere on the order of 450,000 Americans working on the Apollo project. I'm sure most of the people on these boards have heard the tale of, "For want of a nail...". The Saturn V consisted of millions of parts, and it was necessary for the VAST majority of them to work exactly right or the missions never would have succeeded. The actual launching, support and landing/recovery included tens of thousands of people. Because of that, I think that the largest coin, the silver dollar should have one side dedicated to all the workers that worked on the Apollo project. It should show some mix of people such as engineers, technicians, shop workers, secretaries, test subjects, Navy swabbies etc. etc. I really like this image, and would like to see it on the other side of the silver dollar coin. It shows Apollo 11 at launch just as it goes supersonic, hence the shock wave. (This one has been signed by 4 of the most famous of the Flight Directors; Gene Kranz, Glynn Lunney, Gerry Griffin, Chris Kraft). I would think another image that absolutely must be on 1 of the 3 coins is EITHER the classic image of Buzz Aldrin on the Moon (where he is standing facing Armstrong) OR of Aldrin facing the American flag on the Moon. Given that the Space Race was ABSOLUTELY a battle in the Cold War I think the image of Aldrin facing the flag while on the Moon's surface is probably more appropriate. Finally I think it appropriate to have one coin side with the words, "We Came in Peace for All Mankind", OR "That's One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind" on it. That gives the 3 coin group a little more feel for the historic nature of the mission that truly is a defining moment in history.
GREAT info and you obviously have a passion for the subject. One question however. Would you want it to say "...one giant leap for man..." or "...one giant leap for a man..." ? I have always found that story interesting that N.A. either misspoke or the transmission cut out that short vowel sound at just the wrong time, making it sound somewhat awkward. As an aside, for some reason the above always makes me think of History of the World Part 1 when Moses brings down the three tablets, drops one, and thus gives the world the ten commandments.
And of course I messed up the quote either way. Obviously, it was meant to be "one small step for [a] man" and I guess you can't edit posts after a certain amount of time. edit - yep, you get 144 minutes to edit a post ... random number
I like it. I think it's a great idea. A lot better than some of the modern commems out there. It is getting like to classic serices of commems where some of the events that were being recognized were questionable. Not this one tho... If I'm around in 2019, Im in.......
A great coincidence happened to me which is not really apropos to coins, but relates to the great Apollo missions. When I lived in the English midlands town of Kenilworth I lived next door to a student from Warwick University, and his father was a scientist who worked on the Saturn V rockets which sent the brave men to the Moon. I learned a lot from Mark about the Apollo missions. Getting back to the subject of coins, I would like to see more coins from many countries to record Mankind's greatest ever even recorded on coins.
Well if that was his only misstep (pun intended) we shall let that pass. Now bringing that LM down with 10-20 secs of fuel left. Oh what would've been if they had to abort and return to rendezvous with Collins?
In that case Pete Conrad, the commander of Apollo 12, would have been the first man on the Moon. He was the shortest of the astronauts and was known to have a VERY good sense of humor. His first words when he stepped on the Moon were, "Man, that might have been a short step for Neal, but that sure was a long one for me".
I often wonder how Michael Collins felt when he became the loneliest man in history. After Armstrong and Aldrin left in the lander and he orbited around the dark side of the moon he was all by himself without another person within 4,000 miles. And he was cut off from them completely and couldn't see or even talk to them. After those two there wasn't another person for 250,000 miles, and he couldn't talk to them either.
Not the dark side; the far side. All of the moon receives sunlight except for deep crater floors at the lunar poles.
In his book he mentioned that he QUITE enjoyed the relative isolation. Also, it wasn't like he was out of contact for very long. It takes about 2 hours to orbit the Moon, and due to his orbital parameters he was only out of contact for about 50 minutes per revolution.
