Historic and iconic 1941-S Mercury Head dime recovered from Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft almost 38 years to the day after the Mercury capsule and its contents were lost at sea. The coin is sealed in a clear plastic pouch affixed to an 8 x 10.75 illustrated letter of provenance from Jeff Ollenburger of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. The 2006 letter reads in full: “This letter is to certify that the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center of Hutchinson, Kansas, donated two Mercury dimes to the Virgil I. Grissom Memorial in July 2001. This gift was given to the organization with the understanding that one of the Mercury dimes could be sold and proceeds derived from that sale be used to benefit the Virgil I. Grissom Memorial, Inc. We further validate that the two donated dimes were removed during restoration of the Mercury spacecraft Liberty Bell 7, after its recovery July 20, 1999, during a deep-sea salvage expedition.” The certificate and dime are displayed in a 10.5 x 13 mat board. A familiar part of space lore, this dime was among those carried by Grissom during his 1961 suborbital flight. A total of 52 dimes were recovered from the Liberty Bell. This unique item holds the distinction of voyaging to the edge of space at an altitude of 118 miles, and then sinking 16,000 feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the only manned spacecraft to be lost at sea—all within a few hours span. The buying public can only procure a maximum of 11 of these Mercury Head dimes, and then only if the current owners decide to sell them. . RRAuction COA.
