CAG-certified Space and Aviation Artifacts Offered in Heritage Sale

An artifact from the Wright Flyer and another from the Apollo 11 moon mission — both certified by Collectibles Authentication Guaranty® (CAG®) — are among the top offerings in a Heritage Auctions sale. The Space Exploration Signature Auction is being held May 21-22, 2021.

CAG-certified Apollo 11 Robbins Medal graded NGC MS 66 and pedigreed to the Armstrong Family Collection. Click images to enlarge.

The Flown Apollo 11 Robbins Medal is graded MS 66 by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) and certified by CAG as part of The Armstrong Family Collection™, a group of artifacts that were saved by astronaut Neil Armstrong and his immediate family. Armstrong brought the medal and other mementos with him on the historic moon mission in July 1969, when he left humankind's first footprints on the lunar surface.

Bidding for the medal had reached $20,000 a week before the sale. CAG has certified the provenance of thousands of items from the Armstrong Family Collection, including a Gold Apollo 11 Robbins Medal that realized over $2 million in 2019.

CAG-certified Wright Flyer Wing Fabric Piece pedigreed to the Otto Kallir Collection.

The Robbins Medals were struck for the Apollo astronauts to bring along on their spacecraft to commemorate their missions. The ones struck for Apollo 11 show an eagle landing on the surface of the moon, a scene later used for the reverse of the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony Dollars. The reverse shows the dates of the mission, including the moon landing date: July 20, 1969.

Another epic date in history is December 17, 1903. That's when the Wright Brothers flew the Wright Flyer near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina — the first manned powered flight in history and the one that launched the modern aviation era.

The Heritage sale includes a piece of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer. CAG certified its provenance to Otto Kallir, a renowned collector of aviation history. This piece was once part of a model of the Wright Flyer built at a 1:42 scale.

Related Links

• Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 Gold Medal, Certified by NGC and CAG, Realizes Over $2 Million
• CAG Certifies Wright Flyer Artifacts
• The Armstrong Family Collection™
• About CAG