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  FS: Armstrong print, Apollo 11 signed cover

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Author Topic:   FS: Armstrong print, Apollo 11 signed cover
stsmithva
Member

Posts: 2025
From: Fairfax, VA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 11-14-2010 08:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In 1994, Neil Armstrong signed 250 prints of a painting of the Auglaize County Courthouse to raise funds for the Auglaize County Crippled Children's Society and the county's historical society. (Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta is in Auglaize County, and the 100th anniversary of the completion of the courthouse coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.) These prints were sold only in person, in that county. This is #245/250.

Of all the items I am selling this week, I am parting with this one with the greatest reluctance. I hope it finds a good home. I like the image, which includes the moon as seen during the daytime. And I like what it says about Armstrong's character that his last official signing was to help children and the cause of historical preservation.

Comes with the COA signed by the presidents of the two societies which benefited from the prints' original sale. Please note: when Armstrong signed, he put a faint pencil mark near his signature. At some point in the last 16 years, someone tried to erase it, which created a faintly shiny area on the paper near Armstrong's signature. This is only visible when it is held to the light in a certain way, and is mentioned for the sake of accuracy.

I couldn't find any record of one of these prints being sold in the last several years. Uninscribed index cards signed by Armstrong have now sold on eBay and R+R for over $1000. This is an unquestionably genuine autograph on an interesting limited edition print. However, I know that it is probably not quite as desirable to collectors as the Calle print (even though it is more rare) or an uninscribed WSS litho (even though it is much more rare), both of which sell for about $4000 each these days.

Price: (EDIT: $1300). You could pay in up to three monthly installments if you wish.

Apollo 11 crew signed launch cover.

All three crew members stopped signing philatelic items immediately after the Apollo 15 signed covers affair, so there was a window of only a couple of years during which a limited number were autographed.

This one is a particularly nice example, and comes with a good piece of provenance: a typed (carbon?) copy of the 1970 letter sent by a collector in England to Collins at the State Department in Washington, DC. The letter states that Armstrong and Aldrin had signed the envelope "whilst attending the recent S.E.T.P. conference in Los Angeles." The sender wrote at the bottom of his copy "duly returned, signed as requested, 24th Nov 1970."

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots meeting in late September 1969 is mentioned in Hansen's "First Man." Armstrong and Charles Lindbergh were seated next to each other at the banquet, and "Lindbergh had offered Neil one, and only one, piece of advice: 'He told me never to sign autographs.'" Ironic that this cover could have been signed at that very banquet!

Actual insurance covers, signed before the mission, often sell for over $5000.[/url] Even "common" covers signed by the Apollo 11 crew sell at auction for such sums as $4500 and $4900 However, I recognize that people are willing to pay a premium for dealing with a prestigious auction house. I also know that while the full price might be $4500, after the buyer's premium and consignment fee are taken into account, the seller is getting much less than that.

And that is how I arrived at my price of: $3700. You could pay in up to four monthly installments if you wish.

All items are guaranteed to have been hand-signed by the person named. If the original buyer ever doubts an item's authenticity and any one of the hundreds of UACC Registered Dealers agrees in writing after analyzing the item in person, I will refund the full price, including shipping and handling, as long as the item is in its original condition and the buyer retains the receipt I will provide.

All items are in excellent condition unless otherwise noted.

Shipping is $6 for Priority Mail, plus whatever postal insurance the buyer wishes me to purchase.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me. I will be happy to send you a high-quality image of any item(s).

Payment can be made by PayPal or by check. I would very much prefer check, as the PayPal fee for these two items would be quite expensive.

stsmithva
Member

Posts: 2025
From: Fairfax, VA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 01-22-2011 12:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
While the Apollo 11 crew-signed cover sold quickly, there weren't any takers on the Neil Armstrong signed print at my asking price. It really is a great piece - an absolutely genuine Armstrong autograph, signed for a wonderful reason, on a rare and ready-to-display print.

But perhaps I set the price too high. I could find no record of any ever being sold - I put it between the close-to-and-even-over $1000 that index cards with good provenance sell for; and the $4000 that Calle prints and uninscribed WSS photos sell for.

Therefore, I am lowering the asking price by $300, to $1900. You could still pay in three installments if you wish.

ON EDIT: A couple of people just about met my asking price, but I've decided not to sell it. I'll mat it with a couple of Apollo 11 photos for a nice display in my house.

stsmithva
Member

Posts: 2025
From: Fairfax, VA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 09-25-2011 08:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The Neil Armstrong signed print is again available for sale. Please read the first post above for all the details about this interesting, rare item with an unquestionably genuine autograph.

I would prefer a check to PayPal because of the fee, but the price will be the same either way. You could pay in two monthly installments, but I'd prefer one if at all possible.

$1650

stsmithva
Member

Posts: 2025
From: Fairfax, VA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 01-09-2012 04:36 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for stsmithva   Click Here to Email stsmithva     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Every time the Neil Armstrong signed print didn't meet my asking price, I was a little relieved because that meant I didn't have to sell it. But I do need to raise some funds this month, so I am lowering the price to $1300. I'll also accept offers, but the first person to agree with my asking price gets it.

That's one of his rarest limited edition prints for less than the price of a WSS portrait inscribed to somebody else. You could matte several small photos from Apollo 11 down the sides for a very nice display.

All times are CT (US)

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