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Message:: [QUOTE="TheNickelGuy, post: 8204639, member: 20201"]I have two sets, totaling four 1.5 inch medals, these are mine which are sound asleep in the original packaging. 1988 Two Coin Set Young AstronautsProof medals [ATTACH=full]1438159[/ATTACH] 1988 Two Coin Set Young Astronautsuncirculated medals [ATTACH=full]1438160[/ATTACH] March 22, 1985, U.S. Rep. Frank Annunzio, D-Ill., introduced the Young Astronaut Program Medal Act in the House, calling for the production of gold, silver and bronze medals to commemorate the program.On Dec. 16 of that year, U.S. Sen. E.J. Garn, R-Utah, introduced the same legislation in the Senate. (Sen. Garn was also the first member of the U.S. Congress to fly in space when he was a member of the Discovery crew April 19, 1985.)As introduced, the legislation stated that no medals were to be struck after Dec. 31, 1987. Two amended versions extended the deadline first to Dec. 24, 1988, and then to Dec. 31, 1989. The final version authorized Proof and Uncirculated versions of the medal to be issued. The legislation also did not mandate how many medals of each version were to be produced. Congress approved legislation authorizing the medals; the bill was signed by President Reagan March 12, 1986, becoming Public Law 99-295.The bill authorized production of no more than 750,000 medals bearing emblems and inscriptions deemed appropriate by the Treasury Secretary.The authorizing law specified that 10 percent of the revenue from sales of the medals was to go to the Young Astronaut Council's annual budget. The gold, silver and bronze medals feature different obverse designs; they share a common reverse. The medals' obverse designs were chosen from more than 17,000 entries submitted by YAC student members from all over the country. The bronze medal was designed by Erac Priester, then 15, of St. Augustine, Fla. It features a space shuttle, an American flag and six stars. It was sculptured by Edgar Z. Steever of the Mint engraving staff. The silver medal was designed by Essan Ni, then 11, of San Diego. The medal, sculptured by Mint engraver James Lecaretz, features an astronaut saluting the U.S. flag on the surface of the moon. The gold medal was designed by Brian Kachel, then 12, of Jersey City, N.J. It features a space shuttle in flight. The design was sculptured by Mint sculptor-engraver Chester Y. Martin. The Gold medal looks like this, which I do not own. [ATTACH=full]1438163[/ATTACH] All of the obverse designs incorporate the inscriptions LIBERTY and the year 1988. The final mintage figures of the Young Astronaut Medals were reported in the 1990 Report of the Director of the U.S. Mint and were as follows: 1.5-inch bronze28,700 Uncirculated17,250 Proof pieces 1.5-inch silver33,250 Uncirculated15,400 Proof pieces 0.845-inch gold medal13,000 Uncirculated3,400 Proof pieces 3-inch 6-ounce silver medal1,075 Uncirculated pieces 3-inch 12-ounce silver medal3,700 Uncirculated pieces 3-inch 12-ounce gold medal38 Uncirculated pieces.  A total of 115,813 medals were struck of the authorized total of 750,000. The lowest 1.5 inch minted issue for us common folk to acquire would be the silver proof.Compared to US Modern Commemorative Dollars, with a a relatively low mintage of 15,400 it is rivaled only by a few of the Olympic Dollars such as 1995-D Olympics Cycling Silver Dollar 19,6621996-D Olympics Tennis Silver Dollar 15,9831996-D Olympics Rowing Silver Dollar 16,2581996-D Olympics High Jump Silver Dollar 15,6971996-D Paralympics Silver Dollar 14,497 Has anyone ever seen of one of the thirty-eight 3 inch,12 troy oz gold uncirculated medals? Amazing![/QUOTE]

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