Lot 1224
ROBBINS MEDALLION CARRIED ON APOLLO 13
13 April 2010, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$3,660 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistROBBINS MEDALLION CARRIED ON APOLLO 13
Flown on Apollo 13, a Robbins medallion, sterling silver, 1 ½ inches in diameter. The crew mission emblem is on the obverse, the crew names and mission dates on the reverse.
Accompanied by a Typed Letter Signed by Fred W. Haise, which reads in part: "Accompanying this letter is a Robbins sterling silver medallion that was flown on the flight of Apollo 13 during April 1970. The launch date of 'April 11, 1970' and our return date of 'April 17, 1970' are engraved on the reverse side. It is serial number 342 of the Robbins series for Apollo 13.
We as a crew had the initial crew emblem idea of the mythical god Apollo driving his horse drawn chariot across the sky dragging the sun with him. We passed this idea to artist Lumen Winter who created the emblem of three horses traveling from the earth, symbolizing the three astronauts of an Apollo mission. He placed the horses above the moon with the sun in the background. It is interesting to note that this design resembles a painting he did for the St. Regis Hotel in New York City which featured three horses racing across a cloud-filled sky, with a fourth horse falling behind. It is a bit ironic about that fourth horse, because just a few days before our launch, Command Module Pilot Thomas K. (Ken) Mattingly had to be replaced by Jack Swigert due to a potential illness.
That substitution dictated a return of the flown medallions to Robbins for melting and a restrike with a corrected die having the valid crew names on the back. Additionally, since we did not make a lunar landing, only two engraving blanks were placed on the reverse side for the launch and return dates.
I hereby certify that this Robbins medallion with serial number 342 is one of the genuine revised medallions made from the original flown metal. It has been in my personal space artifact collection since 1970 ... The flight was scheduled to be the third manned lunar landing mission, but those plans were aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion in our Service Module."
Accompanied by a Typed Letter Signed by Fred W. Haise, which reads in part: "Accompanying this letter is a Robbins sterling silver medallion that was flown on the flight of Apollo 13 during April 1970. The launch date of 'April 11, 1970' and our return date of 'April 17, 1970' are engraved on the reverse side. It is serial number 342 of the Robbins series for Apollo 13.
We as a crew had the initial crew emblem idea of the mythical god Apollo driving his horse drawn chariot across the sky dragging the sun with him. We passed this idea to artist Lumen Winter who created the emblem of three horses traveling from the earth, symbolizing the three astronauts of an Apollo mission. He placed the horses above the moon with the sun in the background. It is interesting to note that this design resembles a painting he did for the St. Regis Hotel in New York City which featured three horses racing across a cloud-filled sky, with a fourth horse falling behind. It is a bit ironic about that fourth horse, because just a few days before our launch, Command Module Pilot Thomas K. (Ken) Mattingly had to be replaced by Jack Swigert due to a potential illness.
That substitution dictated a return of the flown medallions to Robbins for melting and a restrike with a corrected die having the valid crew names on the back. Additionally, since we did not make a lunar landing, only two engraving blanks were placed on the reverse side for the launch and return dates.
I hereby certify that this Robbins medallion with serial number 342 is one of the genuine revised medallions made from the original flown metal. It has been in my personal space artifact collection since 1970 ... The flight was scheduled to be the third manned lunar landing mission, but those plans were aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion in our Service Module."