posted 04-09-2014 03:43 PM               

Houston, we've got an auction: Apollo 13 astronaut's mementos to be sold

...the mission mementos that [Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert] kept as souvenirs are being put up for auction by the astronaut's family.

The Los Angeles-based Nate D. Sanders auction house is planning to sell Swigert's artifacts as part of its May online auction. The sale's exact dates are still to be determined.

According to an inventory shared with collectSPACE.com, the auction will include more than 20 lots from the Swigert estate...

posted 05-23-2014 04:46 PM               

Beats me where they got my address from, I've never contacted them before.

posted 05-24-2014 06:27 AM               

The auction is packed with great stuff but unfortunately the opening prices are all set so high as to discourage most bidding.

These same items listed at Heritage or RR would have sold like hot cakes - it would have been one of the space auctions of the year. Many of the items would likely have reached or surpassed the level of the opening bids in this NDS auction.

The problem is that just setting the opening prices at such high levels kills an auction before it can even begin.

In the past they suffered from another problem - overly-high hidden reserves. Now they seem to have turned those hidden reserves into overly-high opening prices.

In my opinion they need to take a risk with much lower opening prices and low (or no) reserves if they want their auctions to flourish.

Right now about the only major items selling are the Garland pencil and the badly listed Speedmaster watch strap.

The watch strap is selling largely because it was not identified, which meant the opening price is actually reasonable. Unfortunately, the watch strap is really hurt by the fact that the accompanying COA doesn't even mention it, although it does picture it at least.

posted 05-29-2014 08:26 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by spaced out:
The watch strap is selling largely because it was not identified...

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Lot also includes Swigert's NASA issued Omega velcro watch strap, worn by Swigert over his space suit, and likely space flown. Velcro strap with metal fastener is imprinted with code numbers P/N SEB12100030-202 / S/N 1067.

posted 05-29-2014 09:44 PM               

I was impressed by the final price for the flag which seems on the high side.

posted 05-30-2014 03:42 AM               

Apollo 13 Astronaut Jack Swigert's Estate Sells for $225,000

Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert's estate sold last night (May 29) for $224,940, which includes the buyer's premium. The estate included his personal possessions from the Apollo 13 flight.

The NASA Oral B-40 clear toothbrush Swigert used on his Apollo 13 mission sold for $11,794.

The silver mechanical pencil Swigert used on Apollo 13 mission sold for $10,313. The pencil still works with the original graphite intact. "SEB 12100081-301" and "S/N 2015" is engraved in black to the side of the pencil.

Swigert's own Robbins Apollo medal accompanied Swigert on the Apollo 13 flight. It sold tonight for $7,500. The sterling silver medal is housed in its original "Robbins Company" plastic box with the serial number 147 on a sticker affixed to the bottom of the box. The medal is cast with the Apollo 13 mission, three of Apollo's chariot horses flying toward the Moon, and the slogan "Ex Luna, Scientia." The medal's verso lists the crew members: "James A. Lovell Jr., Fred W. Haise Jr. and Jack L. Swigert Jr." along with the words, "Aquarius and Odyssey" and the launch and return dates of April 11, 1970 and April 17, 1970. The medal comes with a LOA from Swigert's sister.

An Apollo 13 flown flag sold for $18,291.

Swigert's space-flown earpiece and ear tube sold for $6,094.

The most expensive item in the estate auction was Swigert's own Robbins medal for the Apollo 17 flight. It sold for $56,250. An Apollo 11 Robbins medal presented to Swigert sold for $34,375.

Swigert, a Denver native, joined the NASA Astronaut Group 5 in April of 1965. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his heroics on the near-fatal Apollo 13 flight. In 1982, he was elected to the House of Representatives for Colorado's 6th congressional district, but died from cancer just eight days before he would have been sworn into office.

All items from Jack Swigert's estate come with a Letter of Authenticity from his sister.

Additional information on the Jack Swigert Estate can be found here.

posted 05-31-2014 01:31 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by holcombeyates:
If the serial numbers on the strap and the cover correspond with the entries in the Apollo 13 flown equipment manifest, then we can assume that they are both flown?

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Both part numbers appear on multiple mission stowage lists without serial numbers and, accordingly, the parts are not unique to Apollo 13 as I understand it.

The cap would seem the most likely to have been flown since it is part of flight equipment versus crew equipment and of course Swigert's sister's letter states it as such. Seems pretty solid to me.

In theory the strap could have been a training article that simply shared the same semi-standard part number as the flown strap. The certification letter (at least in its original form) doesn't seem to mention the strap.

All that said, congratulations on the items and I certainly have nothing to contradict the notion of flown status in either case.