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Author
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Topic: Value of Apollo 11 VIP Launch Badge
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nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 08-04-2011 12:52 AM
   
I have my father's Apollo 11 launch VIP badge. After helping strap in the astronauts and closing the hatch putting his stamp on the capsule, he was the last man off the launch pad. The badge number is 2086. I was wondering if anyone knew what the value of this badge might be? |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 08-04-2011 09:13 AM
Do you have a scan of the badge? If it's one of the badges like shown below, these have ranged from $50-$250. They show up on eBay relatively frequently. Having your father's history behind it may increase its desirability somewhat, especially if there's something special added to it to indicate his role.  |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 08-04-2011 09:55 AM
Yes that is the one. My dad calls it his 15 minutes of fame. It is a great story of his role in the launch of Apollo 11. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 08-04-2011 10:05 AM
The badge pictured seems to be a launch ticket. The OP indicated his father was on the close out crew. Wouldn't that mean he had a different badge which allowed access to the pad and perhaps the white room, not just the launch viewing? |
J.L
Member Posts: 674
From: Bloomington, Illinois, USA
Registered: May 2005
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posted 08-04-2011 10:13 AM
Gary is right... no one is heading for the white room with that VIP badge. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 08-04-2011 02:14 PM
You guys are probably right. This may be the badge my Mom wore while waiting for my Father to come down from the Pad. He just turned 87 last week but is still sharp as a tack. He has some great stories of NASA and the Apollo program. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 08-04-2011 04:45 PM
I'm sure the cS members here would love to hear any stories your folks might have. Thanks in advance! Maybe you could collect their stories into some kind of journal or book - good luck. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-04-2011 04:56 PM
Did you father say he watched the launch with your mother? I don't know enough about the closeout crew practices back in Apollo, but during shuttle, the closeout crew would never go to the VIP site to watch the launch. They fallback and stand ready should an abort or other emergency require the crew to egress the pad. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 08-04-2011 10:24 PM
If you look at photos of the NASA VIPs inside Firing Room 1 during the Apollo 11 launch, some of them are also wearing this same launch badge, in addition to their Firing Room access badges and NASA IDs. I think it was likely issued as a commemorative for the NASA workers who were at KSC on launch day, in addition to the invited guests.For example, look at this photo of Werner von Braun after the launch. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 08-05-2011 03:24 PM
My Father told me he was the crew chief and after helping strap in the astronauts he and the other guys closed the hatch. They all put a stamp on the hatch and he had the rest of the crew go. Once the area was clear he then entered the elevator and pushed the red button. He said the elevator went down at 600 feet a second leaving your ass up there. He then entered a military vehicle that was waiting for him to transport him to a viewing area where my Mom was. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 11-23-2011 03:02 AM
I am considering selling the badge and don't really know what it is worth. Any ideas? |
freshspot
unregistered
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posted 11-23-2011 05:07 AM
Please don't sell the badge. It is part of your family's history and legacy. While I'm sure people here would be interested, I would feel bad for you if you sold it because a few years down the line you will almost certainly regret the decision. |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 11-23-2011 08:29 AM
If you do decide to sell, they tend to go for around $250-300 recently. |
cosmos-walter
Member Posts: 691
From: Salzburg, Austria
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 11-23-2011 08:58 AM
Please, tell us the name of your father. Perhaps some cS'er knows him. |
413 is in
Member Posts: 628
From: Alexandria, VA USA
Registered: May 2006
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posted 11-23-2011 10:23 AM
The light blue colored variant of this badge just sold for $120 + 15%BP at Lunar Legacies Auction on 11/19/11 (Lot #229).Also, a discussion of this type of badge can be found in this thread. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 11-23-2011 11:06 AM
Your father's name would be a big help in selling this badge. There are pictures of the closeout crew with Apollo 11 in the White Room - it would be great to be able to identify him in the photo and then tell the story about how he left there and went to watch the launch. That would add interest and value to the badge. I doubt that it would go for much more than $300 though. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 11-23-2011 11:43 AM
My Dad is Charles Anderson. He went by Chuck or Charlie. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 11-23-2011 11:47 AM
The only reason I would sell the badge is because it is sitting in a box in my closet. You guys are collectors and would probably display it and do it justice. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 11-23-2011 02:37 PM
If you do sell the badge, have your father write up a short description of his role in the Apollo 11 launch (or you can write/type it based on what he tells you and have him sign it). Include that history with the badge. That way, your father's role in history stays attached to this collectible...and it's not just some anonymous badge floating around from collection to collection. Not only will that make the badge more valuable, but it will be more meaningful too.(Edit: Oops, I see that ilbasso has already expressed that idea in an earlier posting...which I somehow missed seeing.) Also, for your own family's sake, you might want to record your father's memories someday soon. Use a tape recorder (or some other audio recording device) to collect those memories. You will never regret doing so! (Additionally, he might be a good candidate to participate in NASA's Oral History Project. You might want to contact them to see if they are interested in interviewing him.) |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 11-23-2011 03:05 PM
Thank you. I will contact my Father and see if he would like to participate in something like that. |
nfc9rfan
Member Posts: 13
From: Nampa, Idaho USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 11-26-2011 04:43 PM
I did find some photos of my Dad on the internet with the close out crew, but I don't have the rights to them so I can't post them. |
Ross
Member Posts: 472
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 11-27-2011 05:45 AM
You can always post the link to them or at least the link to the webpage they're on. |
idrvball
Member Posts: 150
From: Burke, VA USA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 12-02-2011 10:59 AM
The scan of the Apollo 11 badge above looks like it has a gray background. Does anyone know the difference from that badge, compared to an Apollo 11 Badge that has a blue background, like this one? I wonder why they weren't the same color, but yet looked exactly alike. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-02-2011 02:08 PM
According to Ken Havekotte, the blue version of the badge was reserved for the more high profile VIPs while the gray version was for more general use. |
idrvball
Member Posts: 150
From: Burke, VA USA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 12-02-2011 02:57 PM
Thanks Robert. |
billewald
Member Posts: 89
From: Stafford, VA, USA
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted 09-05-2014 12:14 PM
WOW... how ironic that I am working with the family selling items from the estate of my late friend Mike Levine, and in researching one of his items I find he is still able to lead me in the right direction. After googling one of these badges that Mike owned I am brought to this site where he has the last comment. The badge I am researching is a No. 02 and came from Shirley Ferguson the executive secretary of Debus. |
dragon001
Member Posts: 47
From: Allentown, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 09-05-2014 10:53 PM
quote:
Originally posted by garymilgrom:
Maybe you could collect their stories into some kind of journal or book - good luck.
I'd definitely agree with collecting stories. Even ask permission to use audio recordings as this is done. Just turn the recorder on, and let the folks talk. I wish I did that with my grandfather's war service (served and interacted with Gen. Stilwell) prior to his passing. Please don't pass on an opportunity to record these great memories. I was too young to ask an older second cousin to do with her cousin (referenced above), third cousins or such to Kurt Debus. We have letters from him to her and back regarding the shared genealogy - but no program stories. |
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