posted 04-02-2017 08:34 AM            

Reason I'm writing is because this past week I received through eBay an Apollo 13 version with Mattingly and the "Steeds of Apollo" on it.

posted 05-01-2017 05:56 AM               

The first of three Apollo 13 glass versions is the one with Mattingly in the crew list, with a Lunar Module above the Moon with its descent engine firing on one side (this artwork was used again on one version of the Apollo 14 glass) and the 3-stallions artwork on the reverse side. These are very rare. I was assured by the son of a sales manager for Marathon Oil in the 1970s that these glasses never made it to the service stations for distribution. Libbey was able to recall them early enough after the crew change to ask all of the salesmen to return them in exchange for new glasses with Swigert's name. In the last twenty or so years, I've seen only four or five of the glasses on eBay or in other collectible venues.

Before Libbey could distribute an identical glass with the name change, the famous in-flight accident occurred. After the splashdown, Libbey quickly issued a second Apollo 13 version with "Safe Return To Earth" wording and the splashdown date above a simple lunar loop trajectory on one side and an actual halftone photo of the crew (with Swigert) on the reverse side. While this may have been in limited release following the splashdown, I have only ever seen one example of this glass (and bought it). Shortly afterwards, entirely new artwork for the Apollo 13 Safe Return glass was finished and the most common version (showing the damaged Service Module and a new lunar loop with Command Module parachute spalshdown) was issued.

There is also a surprising production error version of this common Apollo 13 glass with the red and blue colors completely reversed. I consider this an error rather than a pre-production test because I don't seriously believe anyone wanted to see what red space and a dark blue damaged service module area looked like. I can only imagine how this happened in a era before computer-controlled manufacturing. I suspect that someone either mis-loaded paint tanks, switched paint hoses in the silkscreen machine, or made some other similar physical binary error during the manufacturing process. There's no way to know how many error glasses this may have produced (or how many survived) but, again, I've only ever seen one example (which I also bought). I have to wonder if this reverse paint error ever happened with any of the other Apollo glasses.

The two Apollo 14 glasses appear to be post-launch and post-mission versions. The first has artwork of the two astronauts working on the lunar surface with their "ricksha" equipment carrier and has the launch date of January 31, 1971. This glass also uses the art of the LEM firing its descent engine from the first Apollo 13 glass that was never distributed. The second Apollo 14 glass shows Shepard hitting his famous golf shot and has the traditional astronaut emblem over the lunar surface with the LEM landing date of February 5, 1971. The first glass without the golf shot is the rarest, maybe only because the second glass was in distribution longer following the mission. Whenever I see boxed sets of Apollo 14 glasses (below), they are always the golf shot glass.

In addition to the basic Apollo set, there is a Libbey Neil Armstrong Musuem Official Opening glass in the same style as the Apollo series and dated July 1972.

There is also a pair of Libbey First Man On The Moon juice glasses with the famous Small Step quote: one marked Apollo 11 with Lunar Module art, and one with "Wapakoneta, Ohio – Home of Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong."

There are at least four variations of the Libbey Moonshot Tumbler/Shot Glass. In order of increasing rarity:

1. "Liquid Fuel Red Line" around the top of the regular Moonshot tumbler
2. "Liquid Fuel Red Line" around the top of the Harolds Moonshot tumbler (Custom made with the logo for Harolds Club casino in Reno, Nevada, and served with a special Man on the Moon plastic swizzle stick. The swizzle stick was a bit delicate and is very rare with an intact lunar astronaut.)
3. "Neil A. Armstrong – Wapakoneta, Ohio" around the top of the regular Moonshot
4. "Neil Armstrong Homecoming – Wapakoneta, Ohio Sept. 6, 1969" around the top of the regular Moonshot (very rare).

posted 05-01-2017 06:48 PM            

What a find!

posted 05-02-2017 03:29 AM               

In my defense, I bought this one seven or eight years ago and stored it away for protection, not even putting it on display with my other glasses, and I obviously never took a close look at the crew photo.

Maybe Libbey noticed their graphics error at the last minute and this glass was never shipped out? That would explain why no one that I've talked to has ever seen or heard about this version. Maybe it's rarer than I thought.

posted 05-02-2017 05:59 AM            

My collection is now as complete as I think it'll ever be as your red Apollo 13 and the photograph versions are probably too rare to come across.

It's great seeing your pictures and to read about these different glasses. Really appreciate you taking the time to share it all with us.