Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 06-29-2015 03:35 PM
Given that it is the 50th anniversary of Joe Engle's first flight into space (USAF designated, of course), I wanted to share that the Jefferson Space Museum also has the beginnings of a "dollar" gallery, including this dollar bill that flew with Engle 50 years ago. Check it out!
cosmos-walter Member
Posts: 691 From: Salzburg, Austria Registered: Jun 2003
posted 07-01-2015 02:12 PM
Each of the three cosmonauts on board ISS during the last space shuttle mission STS-135 received a two dollar bill.
music_space Member
Posts: 1179 From: Canada Registered: Jul 2001
posted 01-26-2016 08:21 AM
I stumbled on the article United States two-dollar bill on Wikipedia. I added a quotation from Richard Jurek's site Jefferson in Space. Y'all feel free to amend and supplement.
music_space Member
Posts: 1179 From: Canada Registered: Jul 2001
posted 01-27-2016 01:27 AM
The Wikipedia addition was revised by another contributor - Deleted, in fact.
You can appreciate the arguments at the bottom of this page.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 01-30-2016 05:08 PM
I saw the arguments, but frankly — don't agree with them. The editor took it down because there weren't facts about why the bills were flown, and that the site was mostly pictures. Not really true.
The reason for why each bill is flown is explained on each entry — including provenance, why the bill was taken, on behalf of whom, etc. In the "about section" I discuss the tradition, from short snorter, to good luck, to personal memento because the bills are light weight and symbols of national pride.
Anyway, I just don't think the person who deleted it actually spent time reading any of the entries, or the "About" section. Their loss, I suppose. But I do appreciate you trying to get a reference to it on Wiki.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 09-21-2016 06:55 AM
It's been a while since I posted to this thread, but wanted folks to know that the "$2 Bill Documentary" — which features stories of the flown bills in the collection — has been making the film festival circuit. (Recently winning the Manhattan Film Festival Best Documentary award.)
I'm heading down to Columbus, Indiana on Oct. 29 for the screening of the film at the Columbus Film Festival. (If any cSers are in the area, please do swing by if you have a chance. The film is fantastic.)
Also, the DVD edition of the film has just released. And the filmmaker is offering a $2 off with the promo code 2foryou at checkout. If interested, visit their shop on their website.
Hope to see folks in Columbus!
thisismills Member
Posts: 263 From: Michigan Registered: Mar 2012
posted 09-21-2016 08:06 AM
quote:Originally posted by rjurek349: Also, the DVD edition of the film has just released.
Thanks for sharing this information, look forward to watching the film.
Any plans for a digital download of the film to be made available through the typical sources (iTunes, Amazon, etc.)?
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 09-21-2016 11:33 PM
I believe the filmmaker will someday make that available. Right now he is focused on the film festival circuit and DVD market.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-25-2016 11:24 AM
I had the chance to see the "The 2 Dollar Bill Documentary" and greatly enjoyed Rich's segment highlighting the unique connection between the currency and the astronauts.
The film overall is a good watch. Not only did I learn quite a lot about the history of the $2 bill, but about currency collecting in general, as well as the process by which currency is printed. The documentary closes with a particularly powerful story about a $2 bill found at Ground Zero in New York, which really underscores how a simple bill can carry a lot of meaning.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 11-26-2016 08:47 AM
Glad you enjoyed the film, Robert. It truly was a labor of love for Filmmaker John Bennardo.
I recently had the pleasure of watching the film on the big screen at a film festival in Indiana and the 9/11 story was very powerful: not a dry eye in the house.
It was an honor to be asked to be a part of the film -- and glad the story of the space flown "deuces" played out so well in it. For those who might want more info on the film, or to order a copy, go to John's website.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 12-11-2016 06:07 PM
For those who have asked about the streaming version of John Bennardo's award winning documentary on the two dollar bill, I am pleased to announce that it is now available for rental or purchase on Amazon.
If you do get a chance to rent or buy it, and you do enjoy it, please share the link with others and leave a positive review.
It's a sweet, soulful film, and while my space segment is about 5 minutes in the film, the other 85 minutes are a fascinating ride through the unique and historic nature of this quirky bit of US currency.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 11-30-2017 11:39 AM
Was honored to be featured as the #1 fact in this quirky clip about the top 5 unique facts about two dollar bills — leading off with them being flown in space. Check it out, and please share it if you like.
Larry McGlynn Member
Posts: 1255 From: Boston, MA Registered: Jul 2003
posted 11-30-2017 03:26 PM
Rich, that is a great clip. I think the Two Owls Lard is the most bizarre though. Space is tame compared to that story.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 11-30-2017 03:43 PM
LOL! Thanks, Larry. I've been called "quirky" before... but to rank #1 as "bizarre" has not been a life-long goal. That being said, John does a great job with these clips. And I really love his film. The $2 bill is a hard bill not to fall in love with, from a collector perspective.
DMScott Member
Posts: 354 From: Lexington, MA, USA Registered: Dec 2005
posted 12-01-2017 06:37 AM
Rich, this is good but I think the documentary you are in is better. I love how you have built a terrific space collection in an extremely narrow niche.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 12-01-2017 07:29 AM
Thanks, David! It’s been a fun adventure putting the pieces together and hunting down the flown bills.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 08-02-2018 10:10 AM
For those of you who have not yet seen the $2 bill documentary, the filmmaker recently posted my segment from the movie about space flown twos to his YouTube channel. You can see it here.
If you haven't seen the film, and are interested in this bill's unique history and lore, I urge you to check it out on Amazon streaming. It is a fun (and educational) time! Enjoy the space clip!
Rick Mulheirn Member
Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
posted 08-02-2018 05:33 PM
Great clip Richard. Thank you for sharing. Your passion for your chosen speciality is evident and is something we all can relate to.
Joel Katzowitz Member
Posts: 808 From: Marietta GA USA Registered: Dec 1999
posted 08-03-2018 06:53 AM
What a wonderful piece of video Rich. I never heard the story/theory about Cooper's MA-9 bill being taken along because of the planned "22" orbit mission.
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 08-03-2018 09:56 AM
Thanks, Rick! It’s a neat niche that combines all my childhood interests into one: space, numismatics, and autographs. A tri-fecta! ;-)
rjurek349 Member
Posts: 1190 From: Northwest Indiana Registered: Jan 2002
posted 08-03-2018 09:58 AM
Thanks, Joel. Yeah, I got that from a number of behind the scenes people who knew him.
posted 06-29-2015 03:35 PM
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