posted 06-27-2017 12:05 PM               

NGC Signs Charlie Duke, Astronaut Who Walked on Moon, to Autograph Labels

Record-holding Apollo 16 astronaut joins NGC Authentic Hand-Signed Labels program

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has inked a deal for astronaut Charlie Duke to individually autograph NGC certification labels. Duke is one of only 12 people to have walked on the surface of the moon.

As part of the Apollo 16 mission, Duke became the 10th man to walk on the moon in April 1972. Then 36 years old, he became the youngest person ever to have stepped foot on the lunar surface — a record that he still holds. He and fellow NASA astronaut John Young stayed on the surface for a record 71 hours (later eclipsed by the Apollo 17 mission), spent 20 hours and 14 minutes outside the lander, and logged 16.6 miles in their lunar rover.

Three years prior to his own moon walk, Duke served as CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) in for Apollo 11, the first moon landing. As CAPCOM for Apollo 11, he was the voice at Mission Control in Houston, Texas, during the historic first landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. (His excited voice is heard immediately after Neil Armstrong says: "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.")

A month later, Duke was selected as the Backup Lunar Pilot for the harrowing Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, in which an on-board explosion forced the crew to circle the moon without landing. Just days before liftoff, Duke caught rubella and inadvertently exposed the primary and backup crews to the virus. This caused NASA to ground Ken Mattingly — who had no immunity to the disease — and replace him with Jack Swigert as Command Module Pilot. Swigert became famous for reporting to Mission Control: "Houston, we've had a problem here."

Duke's trip to the moon on Apollo 16 was the second-to-last of the NASA missions that included six moon landings from 1969 to 1972. Only six of the 12 men who walked on the moon are still alive.

Duke, 81, was born Oct. 3, 1935, in Charlotte, N.C. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout and graduated from the US Naval Academy and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Duke was commissioned in the US Air Force in 1957 and was a test pilot in 1966 when he was selected as a NASA astronaut.

After entering the Air Force Reserve in December 1975, Duke eventually retired as a Brigadier General in 1986.

"The addition of Charlie Duke to our signature program creates an out-of-this-world opportunity for collectors," says Miles Standish, NGC Vice President. "It is an honor and inspiration to be able to work with one of the few men to have ever walked on the surface of the moon."

Duke joins NGC's already-impressive list of label signers, including Rick Harrison, a television personality known for his Las Vegas pawn shop; Kenneth Bressett, the longtime editor of A Guide Book of United States Coins (the "Red Book"); and John M. Mercanti, the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint and designer of the American Silver Eagle reverse.

NGC Charlie Duke Authentic Hand-Signed Labels will be available from select retailers later this year. For more information about NGC Authentic Hand-Signed Labels, visit NGCcoin.com/Labels.

posted 06-19-2018 04:05 PM               

NGC Signs American Astronaut Clayton Anderson to Autograph Labels

Shuttle astronaut spent nearly half of 2007 at the International Space Station.

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has announced that American astronaut Clayton Anderson will individually autograph NGC certification labels. From 2007 to 2010, Anderson was a part of three Space Shuttle missions and two consecutive International Space Station expeditions.

Anderson first rocketed to space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-117) on June 8, 2007, and he stayed for five months, with most of his time spent aboard the International Space Center as part of Expeditions 15 and 16. He took part in a nearly 8-hour spacewalk, called an EVA (extravehicular activity), on July 23 with a Russian crewmate. He returned to Earth with Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-120) on November 7, 2007.

Anderson returned to space on Discovery as part of STS-131, a 15-day mission in April 2010. NASA's Shuttle era ended the following year; Discovery is now in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum at a facility in Chantilly, Virginia, while Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral, Florida, not far from where Anderson launched and landed aboard the shuttles.

Anderson was born in Nebraska and graduated from Iowa State University with a master's degree in aerospace engineering. Determined to be an astronaut, Anderson applied 15 times before finally being accepted by NASA in 1998.

Anderson is the only Nebraskan to have flown in space, with 167 days total and six spacewalks. Now 59 and retired from NASA, he is the author of "The Ordinary Spaceman: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut," "A is for Astronaut" and "It's a Question of Space!"

"We are honored to have Clayton Anderson help take the NGC Signature Label program to new heights," says Miles Standish, an NGC vice president. "His inspiring story is one that anyone who has worked hard for their dreams can connect with."

"It was an incredible honor and a thrill to have been selected to spend 167 days living and working in outer space," Anderson said. "It is a pleasure to now work with NGC to autograph labels that appeal to space enthusiasts and numismatists alike."

NGC Clayton Anderson Authentic Hand-Signed Labels are the perfect complement to any space- or Americana-themed numismatic item, including the 1971-1978 Eisenhower Dollar series (whose reverse shows an eagle landing on the moon to celebrate America's achievements in space), the 2004 Florida State Quarter (whose reverse shows NASA's Space Shuttle), the 1988-P Young Astronauts Shuttle and Flag Medal, and American Silver, Gold and Platinum Eagles.

Anderson joins NGC's already-impressive list of label signers, including fellow astronaut Charlie Duke; Kenneth Bressett, the editor emeritus of A Guide Book of United States Coins (the "Red Book"); and John M. Mercanti, the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint and designer of the American Silver Eagle reverse.

NGC Clayton Anderson Authentic Hand-Signed Labels will be available from select retailers later this year. For more information about NGC Authentic Hand-Signed Labels, visit NGCcoin.com/Labels.

posted 07-29-2019 09:47 PM               

NGC Launches Limited Edition Astronaut Autograph Labels

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) has expanded its collaboration with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) to create limited edition labels individually hand-signed by American astronauts.

The special NGC labels pair the autographs of 20 NASA veterans with the logo of the ASF, a nonprofit organization that annually provides more than 50 scholarships to the brightest and most talented college students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The ASF was created in 1984 by the six Mercury program astronauts then alive and the widow of the seventh.

The astronauts signing these labels include four who flew with the Apollo program, which put the first men on the moon 50 years ago. The other 16 astronauts, including two women, were part of the Space Shuttle program, which flew missions from 1981 to 2011.

The Apollo program astronauts signing NGC ASF labels are:

• Walt Cunningham, the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission

• Jim Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13, which suffered a critical failure en route to the moon but managed a safe return (Lovell was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie version of that dramatic tale of survival.)

• Al Worden, Command Module Pilot for Apollo 15 in 1971 and one of only 24 people to have flown to the moon

• Charlie Duke, who as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 16 in 1972 was the 10th and youngest person to walk on the moon

The Space Shuttle program astronauts signing NGC ASF labels are:

• Scott Altman
  
• Karol "Bo" Bobko
  
• Dan Brandenstein
  
• Curt Brown
  
• Kevin Chilton
  
• Dick Covey
  
• Christopher Ferguson
  
• Steve Hawley
  
• Bruce Melnick
  
• Jeff Hoffman
  
• Charlie Precourt
  
• Brewster Shaw
  
• Nicole Stott
  
• Joe Tanner
  
• Kathy Thornton
  
• Jim Wetherbee

A royalty will be paid by NGC to the ASF for each NGC ASF Astronaut Autograph Label used.

"NGC is proud to honor these American heroes and support the ASF's contributions to tomorrow's scientists," said Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman. "The NGC ASF Astronaut Autograph Labels are the perfect way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission and the 2019 Apollo 11 Commemorative Coins."

NGC began its collaboration with the ASF in January, when the grading service announced that it had officially licensed the foundation's logo for special NGC certification labels to be encapsulated with the US Mint's Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative coins.

The legislation that authorized the Apollo 11 coins designated ASF as one of three organizations to benefit from a surcharge applied to the sale of the coins. The additional beneficiaries are the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.

NGC has certified more than 50,000 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coins since the US Mint began selling them on Jan. 24.

NGC ASF Astronaut Autograph Labels are available from select retailers.