Historic flight-flown Apollo 17 Robbins Medal, approximately 1.5 diameter, with a raised design on the face the Apollo 17 mission insignia. The reverse of the sterling silver medal is engraved “America-Challenger Apollo XVII - The Beginning” along with the December 6, 1972, launch date, December 11, 1972, moon landing date, and December 19, 1972, return date. This medal is serial numbered “F27.” Only serial numbers F1 to F80 were flown of 300 total medallions struck. The medal also marked the first use of an “F” with a serial number to denote a flown medallion. This particular medallion is one of the keys to any Robbins Medal sets, with only a few in existence due to many being lost years ago. Normal condition. 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 to the moon—rarely find their way to the marketplace. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from astronaut Fred W. Haise, dated Aprill 11, 2003, which reads in part: “This medallion was obtained from the flight crew of Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt. It has been in my personal space artifact collection since early 1973.” RRAuction COA.
