Three items that travelled to the Moon with the Apollo 11 crew have realised nearly $400,000 at auction in total this month.
Mankind’s greatest story is literally out of this world, and buyers are still enthralled by the Apollo missions. And willing to pay large amounts to own a piece of their heritage.
Two were fragments of the Wright Brothers’ pioneering aircraft that were carried to the Moon to emphasise the lineage of aeronautical innovation the Moon mission represented.
A propeller fragment fetched $150,000 and fabric from the Wright Flyer wing $100,000 at Heritage Auction’s June 15 Space Exploration Signature Auction.
This doubly pioneering fragment of the Wright Brothers’ plane was the most valuable item in the sale.
A flag that flew to the Moon and was in Neil Armstrong’s personal collection sold for $57,000.
Space memorabilia is a strong seller. These items, from Armstrong’s family, so with no sale history to work from, made excellent prices.
The $8 million made for Buzz Aldrin’s collection of relics, clothing and medals in 2022 was a record for a single space sale.
This sale brought in just shy of $1.7 million.
At $2.7 million Aldrin’s worn jacket from the 2022 sale is the second most valuable space item ever sold. Only a Soviet space capsule is worth more. That sold for $2.8 million in 2011, when the second most expensive item was an Apollo 13 notebook that realised nearly $400,000 at auction.
Although the heyday of the Space Race and the Moon programme are now around 70 years ago, children who grew up around those momentous events are now of an age where they are likely to have money to spend on celebrating their memories.
