Exactly 50 years ago Apollo 11 lifted off on a journey to take man to the surface of the moon. Four days later the moon would receive it's first visitors when the lunar module Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquility, while back on Earth hundreds of millions of people came together to watch 2 astronauts walking on the moon. In memory of this historic event post any coins you deem relevant. Could be an Apollo, could be an Eagle, or a Luna, etc. ROMAN REPUBLIC. Anonymous. AR Denarius Rome Mint, 86 BCE. Obv.: Laureate head of Apollo right; thunderbolt below. Rev.: Jupiter driving galloping quadriga right, hurling thunderbolt and holding reins. Reference: Crawford 350A/2
I remember many of the Apollo missions and in particular Neil Armstrong's historic moon walk. I was six and living in Houston. My brother and I were allowed to stay up late to watch those historic steps . Here's Selene: EGYPT, Alexandria. Diocletian year 11, CE 294/5 tetradrachm, 19 mm, 7.6 gm Obv: ΔIOKΛHTIANOCCEB; laureate head right Rev: Draped bust of Selene right, crescent before; L IA behind Ref: Emmett 4080.11, R5 One of my favorite depictions of Apollo: TROAS, Alexandria. Trebonianus Gallus CE 251-253 AE 21 mm, 4.76 gm Obv: IMP VIB TREB GALVS AV; laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev: COL AV / TROA; Apollo, head right and holding , seated facing on griffin springing right, head left Ref: RPC IX 407; Bellinger A403
Too many Apollo coins in my collection to share them all, but here are some of my favorites: Gordian III, AD 238-244. Roman AE Sestertius, 20.01 gm, 28.2 mm, 11 h. Rome, 5th officina. 9th emission, AD 241. Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: PM TRP IIII COS II PP SC, Apollo seated left, holding laurel branch and resting left arm on lyre. Refs: RIC 302; Cohen 252; Sear --; Banti 72. Gordian III and Tranquillina. Roman provincial AE 25.8 mm, 11.44 g. Thrace, Mesembria, AD 241. Obv: ΑVΤ Κ Μ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟC ΑVΓ CΕΒ-ΤΡΑΝΚVΛΛΙΝ[Α], laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian and draped bust of Tranquillina, wearing stephane, confronted. Rev: ΜΕCΑΜΒΡΙΑΝΩΝ, Apollo in long robe, standing left, holding plectrum in outstretched right hand and resting left on lyre set on column. Refs: Moushmov 3998; Varbanov 4175-4176. Trebonianus Gallus, AD 251-253. Roman AR antoninianus, 3.60 g, 19.2 mm, 6h. Rome, 6th officina, 4th emission, early AD 253. Obv: IMP CAE C VIB TREB GALLVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: APOLL SALVTARI, Apollo standing left, holding branch with right hand and resting left hand on lyre set on rock. Refs: RIC 32; Cohen/RSC 20; RCV 9627; Hunter 21.
If you say so. To me every bit of the mission is a big deal. This morning I watched CBS coverage of the lift off from 2 hours before the launch until Walter Cronkite signed off. It was nice to be able to see the rocket taking off exactly 50 years (to the second) and hearing Walter Cronkite describe it all.
The whole mission is obviously very special. But it was far from the first rocket to lift off... accomplishing the landing - kind of the biggest deal.
Enjoy. Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra's coverage of the liftoff....with 1969 TV commercials to boot. It's all very nostalgic even for someone like me who wasn't born back then.
Apollo 11 and all of the space milestones were played in the breakroom where I worked so as many of us as could break free could watch the TV. Our bosses, civilian and military, were very supportive of our interest in the subject. At that time I was buying very few ancient coins on the pay of a newlywed Private First Class but had not yet sold off my coins from the time before the draft got me. None of the coins I still have that I owned that day show Apollo. Later acquisitions: Commodus AE as / Apollo leaning on column Gordian III AE25 Marcianopolis / Apollo with snake and column - This coin conveniently bears my catalog number 1969. I do not recall ever showing this one online before. Amother Gordian III Ae25 but this from Hadrianopolis shows Apollo in a different pose with a tree rather than a column. Finally, another AE25 but of Septimius Severus from Nikopolis shows Apollo Sauroktonos and was purchased from Coin Talk's own PeteB. It was my first darter version of this reverse and is still one of my favorite coins. PeteB threw in as a bonus this AE15x20 one assarion version.
I remember this vividly. I was 10years and 10 days old when we landed. I was sitting with my Great-Grandfather (he was sitting my brother and me), and I believe it was 2AM when Armstrong finally stepped out. I still remember my Great-Grandfather tell me that when he was my age, they had no electricity and used horses / horse and buggy to get around. Amazing in HIS lifetime the technological LEAP that Humans made. Horse and buggy, no electricity to Walking on the MOON. LUNA RR Anon 189-179 BCE AR Den Roma Luna Biga S 69 Cr 158/1 APOLLO RR 234-231 BCE AR Heavy Denarius - Didrachm Apollo-Horse prancing Crawford 26-1 Sear 28 EAGLE Roman Republic Anon AE Sextans 217-215 BCE She-Wolf Twins Romulus and Remus Eagle Syd 95 Craw 39/3 Sear 609
I'm just old enough to remember watching in awe the events on television, 50 years ago. As a result, I couldn't resist buying one or two of these massive silver commemmoratives issued this year. It's the diameter of an Aes Grave As and scyphate. You did say "any coins you deem relevant"!
I was nine and remember it as if it had been yesterday L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, Denarius Rome mint, 90 BC Laureate head of Apollo right, Δ below chin Naked horseman galloping right, holding whip; above swan. L.PISO.FRUGI / ROMA at exergue 3,93 gr - 18,8 mm Ref : RCV # 235, RSC # 12b, RRC # 340/1-Calpurnia 12b-symbol 166 Ex. Naville Numismatics Q
I was on summer break after my second year of college and on my summer job on the day of the launch. After the tragedy two years earlier I was hoping the launch would be good, but once they got past the first stage burn I turned back to my work - waiting to see how it was going to go once they reached the moon. The whole Apollo space program was a big deal to me, whether I dropped everything to watch or not. Here is one of the only coins I have that shows the name of Apollo along with his effigy. Same reverse type as the Treb Gall that RC showed, but with a slightly different inscription: Aemilian IMP AEMILIANVS PIVS FEL AVG APOL CONSERVAT: Apollo stands facing left and holds a branch in his outstretched right hand, and rests his left on a kithara/lyre. The clump which appears in his right hand/arm at the end of the branch is, I believe, a die defect.
Tetradrachm of Leontini 440-430 B.C. Obv Head of Apollo left Rv Head of roaring lion left . HGC 671 17.34 grms 25 mm Chalkidian League Ar Tetradrachm 350 B.C. Obv Head of Apollo right Rv. Kithara HGC 500 14.49 grms 25 mm minted at Olynthos
If you want to follow live the mission of Apollo 11, they entered the sphere of influence of the moon an hour ago and will be doing the burn for lunar orbit in 13 hours. Crew is currently in their resting/sleeping period. Here you go....
I do hope that we can do something about going to Mars in the next 25 years or so. It would be a shame if we reach the 75th anniversary of Apollo 11 without going to Mars (going to the moon again is a bit gratuitous). If you think about it, we have made so many strides in the technological world since then (PC's, Internet, social networks, search engines, mobile phones) it's weird that mankind has kind of regressed when it comes to manned exploration of the solar system. Maybe Elon Musk will get his wish of "dying on Mars" as he has tweeted before.
I hear you, I'd love to see mankind going to Mars too..... But at this point I'd settle for the Moon. Forty-seven years of NASA going nowhere beyond low-earth orbit, and not doing much of anything inspiring to people, will do that to you.
