Fred Haise's flown sterling silver Apollo 13 Robbins medal with a raised design of the mission insignia on the face, approximately 1.25″ in diameter, engraved on the reverse with the launch date of April 11, 1970, and the return date of April 17, 1970, encircled by the names of the astronauts in raised text, with serial number, "172," engraved below. Condition is mint state.
Accompanied by the original plastic case and a signed letter of authenticity from Haise, in part: "Accompanying this letter is a Robbins sterling silver medallion that was flown on the flight of Apollo 13 during April 1970…It is serial number 172 of the Robbins series for Apollo 13…We as a crew had the initial crew emblem idea of the mythical god Apollo driving his horse drawn chariot across the sky dragging the sun with him. We passed this idea to artist Lumen Winter who created the emblem of three horses traveling from the earth, symbolizing the three astronauts of an Apollo mission. He placed the horses above the moon with the sun in the background. It is interesting to note that this design resembles a painting he did for the St. Regis Hotel in New York City which featured three horses racing across a cloud-filled sky, with a fourth horse falling behind. It is a bit ironic about that fourth horse, because just a few days before our launch, Command Module Pilot Thomas K. (Ken) Mattingly had to be replaced by Jack Swigert due to a potential illness.
That substitution dictated a return of the flown medallions to Robbins for melting and a restrike with a corrected die having the valid crew names on the back. Additionally, since we did not make a lunar landing, only two engraving blanks were placed on the reverse side for the launch and return dates.
I hereby certify that this Robbins medallion with serial number 172 is one of the genuine revised medallions made from the original flown metal. It has been in my personal space artifact collection since 1970.” This silver Apollo 13 medal holds extra significance given that it was carried to the moon during NASA's most harrowing moment.
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