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Author
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Topic: 302929368307: Space shuttle flown flag
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Michigander
New Member Posts: 2
From: Jackson, MI
Registered: Jun 2018
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posted 10-26-2018 02:42 PM
   
I have been thinking about purchasing a shuttle flown flag. There are two currently on eBay like this one.Obviously the display has already been destroyed, which is unfortunate, however it seems like an inexpensive way to purchase a flown flag compared to the other prices I have seen. What are your thoughts on buying one of these and then framing just the flag? I would normally never think of separating a display like this, however this one has already been so badly damaged it seems beyond repair. Thoughts? |
Go4Launch
Member Posts: 542
From: Seminole, Fla.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 10-26-2018 03:29 PM
My first question would be, would you want to remove the flag from the backing, or just cut it out of the display to be part of a new one? Typically there's a thin layer of adhesive that makes trying to peel away these thin flags very problematic. |
Rick Mulheirn
Member Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 10-26-2018 05:09 PM
Personally, before making an offer I would try and locate for sale another TDRS flown patch. If successful you could make a decent fist of restoring the certificate to something approaching its original state, but I suspect that in the long run it might be cheaper to seek out a complete undamaged identical example. |
SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 867
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 10-26-2018 05:25 PM
It is possible to purchase the shuttle presentation and cut out the flown patch, with the proverbial caveat of measure twice, cut once, e.g. make darn sure you know what you're going to do with it before you decide to destroy the display. I would suggest that destroying the display may Not ultimately be a dollar wise way to get a shuttle flown flag. There are a bunch of them out there.Given the potential issues of the piece, and looking at Heritage's auction archives, it may be simpler to just buy another piece, at not much more of a price. For example, I see that an STS-2 flown US flag was sold for $300 (commission included) in the May 2018 auction. On the other hand, dealing with damaged displays may be more reasonable when dealing with rarer pieces. About 10 years ago I won at auction a STS-1 presentation piece to Deke Slayton. It consisted of a flown flag and patch. The presentation piece was, in essence, a three layer piece. The back outer piece was a solid piece of cardboard. The middle part consisted of the patch glued to a presentation certificate. The flag while displayed as part of the middle section of the display was adhesively attached to the back outer piece. On top of these two layers was a third layer of the same cardboard material as the back outer piece, with rectangular holes cut through it to display the flag and patch presentation piece. The front and back parts had been adhesively joined.  By the time I got the piece the adhesive holding the front and back pieces together was failing (and, to a lesser extent, it was failing on holding the flag too). I contacted the restoration department of a well known museum and asked who they would recommend for restoration, and they gave me a name. I had that person detach the flag and the personal presentation with patch from the adhesively failing front and back pieces. After conservation I then reframed (using museum quality framing etc.) the flag and presentation/patch in a new frame.  |
AlanC
Member Posts: 147
From: Scotland
Registered: Nov 2014
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posted 10-27-2018 03:35 PM
It looks great! |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 10-28-2018 08:51 AM
$199.99 is crazily expensive for a presentation in that state. Even $100 would be pushing it in my opinion.If you want a flown US flag presentation and don't care which mission it's from you should be able to find something for maybe $150 to $200 fairly easily. A cheaper option would be one of the STS-65 Apollo 11 25th anniversary flown flag pieces or the STS-91 flown Shuttle-Mir flags. These can be found for as little as $50 to $90 on eBay. |
Michigander
New Member Posts: 2
From: Jackson, MI
Registered: Jun 2018
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posted 10-29-2018 07:14 AM
Thank you all for your input! I am relatively new to the hobby of collecting space memorabilia and this has been really helpful. I submitted an offer in line with what you all have been suggesting and it was rejected, so I will bide my time and look for something more reasonable. Thank you again! |
spaced out
Member Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 10-29-2018 10:51 AM
Generally speaking most collectors make their biggest mistakes when they just start collecting.People tend to rush in without considering the possible downsides — forgeries, fakes, rip-offs, overpricing – and they tend to assume that they've got to buy something straight away otherwise they're going to miss a chance. In general, for most kinds of space collectibles there will always be another opportunity to buy it, and when it comes to things like Shuttle flown flags they're going to be more commonly available over the next decade or two rather than rarer as awarded presentations find their way out onto the market as people who worked on the program retire or, dare I say it, pass on. |
Larry McGlynn
Member Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 10-29-2018 12:50 PM
I agree with Chris ("spaced out"). Patience is a key attribute in space collecting. There are several occasions where I was kicking myself for not picking up a piece only to have it resurface some time later. STS-1 shuttle flags like do come up, so it there is any doubt about the piece, then wait as another example will turn up in the future. |
Tallpaul
Member Posts: 153
From: Rocky Point, NY, USA
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 10-30-2018 09:31 AM
For the most part I agree with Chris and Larry. However, there are some items for which one can wait years to see reappear. For example, signed covers for GT-8 and GT-10. |
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