Flight-flown Apollo 13 Robbins Medal, approximately 1.25 diameter, with a raised design on the face of the Apollo 13 mission insignia. The reverse of the sterling silver medal is engraved with the full names of astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert, along with spacecraft names Aquarius and Odyssey, the April 11, 1970, launch date, and April 17, 1970, return date. This medal is serial numbered “383.” Normal condition. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Skylab III science pilot Ed Gibson that reads in part: “The Space Medallion...is from my personal collection...I have been its sole owner, and it has been in my possession since being acquired directly from the mission’s flight crew.” The Apollo 13 Robbins hold the distinction of being somewhat different than all of their other mission counterparts. Because of the last minute change to the crew (Jack Swigert for Ken Mattingly) all of the flown medals were melted down after the mission and new ones struck from the metal. Made by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts, astronauts who are in line for a flight have the option of purchasing the medallions for themselves, family, and friends as personal souvenirs. The medals are made available only to the astronauts. At the conclusion of a flight, the tokens are sent back to Robbins, where they are engraved on the reverse, polished, numbered, and returned to the astronauts. The dyes are later destroyed. Remarkably scarce flight-flown mementos such as this—particularly one flown as part of the near-fatal lunar mission—rarely find their way to the marketplace. RRAuction COA.
