Auction of Armstrong memorabilia nets $5.2M
Apollo 11 plate ID, the top seller, goes for $468.5K; 2 more sales planned
Space enthusiasts spent more than $5.2 million on NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong’s personal collection of memorabilia last week.
“Thank you to the enthusiasts out there, the supporters of NASA, the lovers of science and the dreamers of impossible dreams,” Armstrong’s son, Mark, said in a statement. “Thank you for your unwavering support of space exploration. It’s my hope that you continue to do what you do to boldly propel us forward into the future.”
The auction was held Thursday and Friday in Dallas by Heritage Auctions, which has held such events for 20 astronaut families. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, however, is the “holy grail,” auctioneer Mike Sadler said Thursday.
The first major sale of Armstrong’s personal collection comes amid a growing demand for space collectibles as the 50th anniversary of the July 20, 1969, moon landing approaches. Two other auctions of Armstrong’s collection are planned in the next year: one in May and another next November.
The top seller was a plaque that held the Apollo 11 lunar module’s ID plate, which went for $468,500. Other big-ticket items were a 12-by-18-inch flag, a medal honoring the astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 fire
“Thank you for your unwavering support of space exploration. It’s my hope that you continue to do what you do to boldly propel us forward into the future.”
Mark Armstrong, Neil Armstrong’s son
two years prior and a piece of the Wright Flyer. All three went to the moon with Armstrong in 1969 and sold for $275,000 each.
Mark Armstrong told the Houston Chronicle on Friday that some of the money will go to charities and organizations and some of it will go toward an environmentally focused foundation he is creating. It was a cause his father believed in wholeheartedly, Mark said. Neil Armstrong died in 2012 at 82.
“Even though he was a scientist, Dad was really environmentally conscious,” he added. “He always said Earth was our spaceship . ... We couldn’t build a better one, so let’s take care of the one we have.”
Other items sold included a blue flight suit worn by Armstrong during the Gemini program that went for more than $109,000, a
Navy Aviator notebook went for $18,750 and a crayon drawing of flowers Armstrong created for his mother sold for $15,000.
Armstrong’s Boy Scouts of America patches and cap, as well as his NASA patches, also were popular.
“Working with the family to share objects near and dear to Neil Armstrong with his fans and space memorabilia collectors is a shining point in the history of Heritage,” Heritage President Greg Rohan said in a statement. “We are excited for the spring, when we have the pleasure of bringing more never-before-seen artifacts and private mementos to the world.”
Other space memorabilia not associated with the Armstrong collection but auctioned off last week alongside it generated about $2.2 million.