Tom Stafford’s flown sterling silver Apollo 10 Robbins medal, approximately 1.25″ x 1.25″, shield-shaped with a raised design on the face of the mission insignia and the last names of crew-members Tom Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan. The reverse of the medallion is engraved "May 18-26, 1969" and serial numbered "166." Includes the original plastic case. Condition is mint state, with slight tarnishing to reverse. Accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Stafford, in part: "This medallion flew to the moon during May 18 to 26, 1969 on the Apollo X mission. I commanded the flight with astronauts John Young serving as Command Module Pilot and Eugene Cernan serving as Lunar Module Pilot. This flight successfully tested techniques needed to accomplish the first lunar landing mission two months later."
An immensely appealing flown Robbins medal from the very important 'dress rehearsal' for the Apollo 11 moon landing—one of 300 flown to the moon on Apollo 10, this medallion stayed with Young aboard the Command Module Charlie Brown while Stafford and Cernan flew the Lunar Module Snoopy to within 9.7 miles of the lunar surface; it was on this flight that Young became the first human to fly solo around the moon. The medallion has the unique distinction of being part of a Guinness World Record—on its return from the moon, Apollo 10 set the record for the highest speed attained by a manned vehicle: 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h) or Mach 36!
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
