Unflown Apollo 15 Robbins Medal, approximately 1.5 diameter, with a raised design on the face of the Apollo 15 mission insignia. The reverse of the sterling silver medal is engraved “Man’s Flight Through Life Is Sustained by the Power of His Knowledge” along with the July 26, 1971, launch date; July 30, 1971, moon landing date; and August 7, 1971, return date. This medal is serial numbered “145” along the rim and was not flown. Medal comes in its original case, numbered “145.” Condition is mint state. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Dave Scott stating, in part: “I hereby certify that the Apollo 15 medallion numbered ‘145’ included with this letter is from my personal collection and contains silver from the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet that was flown aboard Apollo 15, July 26-August 7, 1971…Prior to the mission, 304 medallions were struck…These medallions also contained a spelling error of the landing site…However, in my Personal Preference Kit (PPK) I carried a Spanish silver bar salvaged from the treasured Spanish ‘Plate Fleet that was destroyed by a hurricane in 1715. After the mission the Robbins Company restruck the 177 medallions that had not flown and included the flown Spanish bar in the mix…This Apollo 15 serial number ‘145’ has been in my personal collection since the mission.” Up to Apollo 15, the entire run of medallions was carried on each flight, until the misspelling of Apennines (as Appeninnes) led to a batch being sent back to the company to be re-struck. Unfortunately this could not be done in time for the launch which meant that only 127 of the 304 medallions were flown. Provenance: Dave Scott. RRAuction COA.
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