posted 04-20-2020 04:41 PM               

We were able create a series of commemorative medals modeled after an original Robbins Medal owned by Apollo 13 command module pilot Jack Swigert. Each medal features the same design as the Apollo 13 Robbins Medal, along with dual dates of 1970 and 2020 that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission when the courage and skill of NASA turned disaster into success.

The silver commemorative was struck in two full ounces of highly pure 99.9% fine silver while the platinum piece was minted in one ounce of 99.9% platinum. Each has also been antiqued to give it an aged appearance. And, as part of the antiquing process, each medal was coated with authentic space-flown material. Plus, the platinum medal has a layer of space-flown gold that coats the sun on the medal's obverse.

The obverse, struck in Ultra-High Relief, is the official Apollo 13 logo designed by mission commander Jim Lovell. It features the three horses of the sun god Apollo circling the moon. The Latin inscription reads: "From the Moon, Knowledge." The reverse includes the names of all three astronauts on the mission, the mission's launch date, and the mission's return date.

Just 1,000 silver commemoratives will ever be struck and only 500 platinum commemoratives will be minted.

These Apollo 13 Robbin Medal Commemoratives will come sealed in acrylic holders and encapsulated with labels that feature a portrait of Jim Lovell. As an added bonus, the one-ounce platinum medal in this set has been encapsulated with a label personally hand-signed by none other than Lovell himself!

posted 05-22-2021 11:54 AM               

These 50th anniversary commemoratives were made using scans from an authentic Apollo 14 Robbins Medal and feature the same design as the original, along with dual dates of 1971 and 2021 and each commemorative’s weight and fineness.

To make the design even more vivid, each medal has been treated with a special antiquing process with a layer made from authentic space-flown material. These pieces aren’t just tributes to man’s quest to explore the cosmos but are made from material that has actually been in outer space!

posted 06-28-2021 02:05 AM               

Also, I was initially disappointed to see that the Apollo 13 medallion was twice the price of Apollo 11. But then I realized that it's got twice the amount of silver. It's a 2-ounce medallion. Were the flown medallions the same size? If so, does anyone know the reasoning behind that? Wouldn't it be better to carry 800 1-ounce medallions rather than 400 2-ounce medallions? I like the heavier weight of them, but it seems like an odd choice for that situation.

posted 06-28-2021 08:28 AM               

The Apollo 11 Robbins replicas came about because the Armstrong family sought to use the dies for the originals to raise funds for the charities they supported.

ASM then offered the Apollo 13 medallions, "based on" a medallion from the Swigert estate, with a select number presented slabbed with a label signed by Jim Lovell.

The Apollo 14 replicas gave up any connection to the originals, neither "based on" an acquired medallion (or die) or with the autograph of any astronaut from the crew. It is simply a commercial replica.