Lot #6370

Apollo 11-17 Signed Insurance Cover Set

Description

Remarkable set of crew-signed insurance covers from the Apollo lunar landing missions, signed by every prime crew

Remarkable set of crew-signed Apollo insurance covers (with an Apollo 17 'anniversary' cover standing in for the true insurance cover), each signed in felt tip by the complete prime crew, with all but the Apollo 14 cover certified by an affiliated astronaut as deriving from his personal collection. Includes: Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 'Type 3' crew-signed insurance cover (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins), Alan Bean's Apollo 12 Signed 'Type 1' crew-signed insurance cover (Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean), James Lovell's Apollo 13 'Type 1' crew-signed insurance cover (James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise), Apollo 14 'Type 1' crew-signed insurance cover (Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stu Roosa), Al Worden's Apollo 15 crew-signed insurance cover (Dave Scott, Jim Irwin, and Al Worden), John Young's Apollo 16 crew-signed insurance cover (John Young, Charlie Duke, and Ken Mattingly), and Gene Cernan's Apollo 17 crew-signed anniversary cover (Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans). In overall fine to very fine condition.

Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 'Type 3' Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 'Type 3' insurance cover with a color cachet depicting the mission insignia, bearing a launch date postmark of July 16, 1969 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in blue felt tip by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The cover is also marked along the reverse bottom edge, "BA08." The cover is lightly affixed to a sheet of personal letterhead signed in blue ballpoint by Buzz Aldrin, which reads, in part: "This postal cover…is one of the 'insurance covers' signed by the Apollo 11 crew prior to our launch in July 1969. Since we were unable to obtain adequate life insurance due to the high risk nature of being an astronaut, we signed this group of covers and evenly distributed them to our families for safe keeping while we performed our mission. If an unfortunate event prevented our safe return, the covers would have provided a limited financial means of support to our families…The cover displayed above has been in my private collection since 1969 and has an identifier of BA10 written on the reverse side. It was signed by the Apollo 11 crew-Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and myself prior to launch."

Alan Bean's Apollo 12 Signed 'Type 1' Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
Alan Bean's Apollo 12 'Type 1' insurance cover bearing a mission emblem cachet with Navy wings underneath, bearing a launch date postmark of November 14, 1969 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in black felt tip by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean. Later signed and certified on the reverse by Bean, "Insurance cover from my collection, Alan Bean, Apollo 12 LMP."

James Lovell's Apollo 13 'Type 1' Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
James Lovell's Apollo 13 'Type 1' insurance cover with a color mission emblem cachet, bearing a launch date postmark of April 11, 1970 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in black felt tip by James Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise. Later signed and certified on the reverse by Lovell, "Insurance cover from my collection—James Lovell, CDR Apollo 13."

Apollo 14 'Type 1' Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
Apollo 14 'Type 1' insurance cover with a color mission emblem cachet, bearing a launch date postmark of January 31, 1971 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in felt tip by Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stu Roosa.

Al Worden's Apollo 15 Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
Al Worden's Apollo 15 'Type 1' insurance cover with a color mission emblem cachet, bearing a launch date postmark of July 26, 1971 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in black felt tip by Dave Scott, Jim Irwin, and Al Worden. Later signed and certified on the reverse by Worden, "Apollo 15 Insurance Cover From My Collection, Al Worden, Apollo 15 CMP."

John Young's Apollo 16 Crew-Signed Insurance Cover
John Young's Apollo 16 'Type 1' insurance cover with a color mission emblem cachet, bearing a launch date postmark of April 16, 1972 at Kennedy Space Center, signed in blue felt tip by John Young, Charlie Duke, and Ken Mattingly. Later signed and certified on the reverse by Young, "Insurance Cover from my personal collection, John Young."

Gene Cernan's Apollo 17 Crew-Signed Anniversary Cover
Gene Cernan's Apollo 17 anniversary cover with a cachet of the mission insignia and text to top and bottom, "NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, Official Commemorative Cover," signed in black felt tip by Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans. A later hand-stamp on the front identifies it as "Insurance Cover No. 15," the reverse bears a provenance stamp from "The Eugene A. Cernan Space Collection," and both sides feature launch date anniversary postmarks dated December 7th in the years 1997, 2002, and 2007. Corner-mounted to a certificate signed in black ink by Cernan, explaining that the covers were "signed before launch by both myself as mission commander and Ronald Evans as our command module pilot, while our lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt signed the covers once back on Earth." After these presentations were released, Gene Cernan issued a clarification indicating he did not consider them to be official 'insurance covers.' As the signatures are undoubtedly authentic and originated from Cernan's collection, these are now offered as 'insurance-like' anniversary covers.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Space
• Dates: September 26, 2024 - October 24, 2024

This item is Pre-Certified by STEVE ZARELLI
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