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Author
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Topic: Mercury and Gemini-era lapel pins and buttons
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Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 08-04-2011 10:51 AM
   
As far as I know there are pins/buttons for: Mercury:- Shepard
- Glenn
- Carpenter
- Cooper
Gemini:
- Gemini 3
- Gemini 4
Any others? With the 50th anniversary of the Mercury missions, these became a bit more expensive on the usual auction websites... |
Gilbert
Member Posts: 1546
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 08-04-2011 03:11 PM
I have a "Hurrah for Schirra" pinback button and a Grissom Liberty Bell 7 pinback button. I've seen some Gemini buttons for missions after the first two, but I can't remember which. I'm pretty sure Russ Still has some later Gemini mission buttons. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 08-04-2011 05:29 PM
I have been collecting U.S. space related pin-back buttons for about 15 years. First of all, would it be possible to see a picture of your "Grissom Liberty Bell 7 pinback button" I have not seen one of these before? I have included some pictures of some of my collection for reference.  
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garymilgrom
Member Posts: 2153
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 08-05-2011 08:44 AM
Your collection is superb. Where did the Space Shuttle Expert pin come from? |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 08-05-2011 11:58 AM
Indeed, great collection!Mine are classified per mission era (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) but I wanted to ask if those are Riker boxes? |
Go4Launch
Member Posts: 563
From: Seminole, Fla.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 08-05-2011 12:36 PM
Gilbert: I would also like to see your Liberty Bell 7 button -- like Tom (kosmo), I have been collecting for many years and have never seen one, either. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 08-05-2011 01:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by garymilgrom:
Where did the Space Shuttle Expert pin come from?
The Space Shuttle Expert pin-back is from Boeing quote:
Originally posted by Philip:
I wanted to ask if those are Riker boxes?
Philip, those are Riker boxes. I have thought about dividing them up into project/missons, but I kind of like the mixed look in the Riker boxes. I'm working on a web page and for sure the pin-back buttons will be divided into projects/missions, as well as the space pennants I'll be displaying.  |
SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 1457
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 08-31-2011 10:57 AM
Some great looking material here.I've got a Mercury capsule lapel pin from Jerry Hammack's estate. I've seen a variety of those sort of things. I also got via the estate a tie clip and cuff links. I've never seen anything else like them, although given they are not made of precious metal, I assume some vendor made a run of them at some time. The cuff links are a capsule (Mercury?, Gemini?) descending under a parachute. Sorry, no pictures of them. The tie clip is of a Gemini docking with an Agena. Here's a pic of it...  |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 09-02-2011 09:03 AM
Now is the right time to start collecting these as the 50th anniversaries of upcoming Gemini and Apollo missions are going to raise prices once again. Great objects and a good investment! |
Go4Launch
Member Posts: 563
From: Seminole, Fla.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 09-02-2011 04:05 PM
With all due respect to space button collectors (of which I am one for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo), they are great items, but so many of them were made that I doubt all but the rarest will become good investments. If anything, prices have come down from, say, 20 years ago "thanks" to the Internet. |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 918
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-05-2011 07:31 AM
Great collection Tom. My collection is much more modest and is almost exclusively Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. The pin back button I spent the most time tracking down was the "Hurrah for Schirra".I have never seen a Grissom Liberty Bell 7 button. Gilbert? My understanding is the buttons were produced for the celebratory parades that followed the launches. Due to the unfortunate loss of LB7 after splashdown and the subsequent investigation which could have assigned guilt to Grissom, there was no parade, hence to no button. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 09-05-2011 08:29 AM
Here is a photo of the Grissom Liberty Bell 7 pin-back cS member Gilbert talks about. In my opinion, it appears to be a more modern pin-back and not in the style that would have been produced if it were a vintage pin-back button. To date the only vintage pin-back button of Grissom that I'm aware of, also has Shepard's and Glenn's photos on it and is called "America's Astronauts, Men of the Year" (see photo of my collection) and is quite uncommon. |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 918
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-05-2011 10:19 AM
I agree that the Grissom pin back does not appear to be vintage. Coincidentally, I was at Gilbert's house a few weeks ago but wasn't aware he had that button or I would have taken a closer look. |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 09-05-2011 11:53 AM
By the way Joel, there are two variations to the "Hurrah for Schirra" pin-back button, one that has Wally's helmet cropped at the top (white), photo used was probably taken from a cropped news photo and one with Wally's helmet finished (filled in with strips of grey). |
Joel Katzowitz
Member Posts: 918
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-10-2011 08:05 AM
Thanks. I have the cropped version. Which version is the rarer of the two, and why is the "Hurrah for Schirra" pinback so hard to find? |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 09-10-2011 12:56 PM
Probably the version with Wally's helmet finished (filled in with strips of grey), but they are both somewhat uncommon. I think Wally's flight suffered from the public losing interest in the Mercury flights, so not many (only one flight related pin-back button, that I know of) was produced and neither variation was produced in very large quantities. |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 09-15-2011 01:43 PM
These are amazing buttons as it looks like NASA used ID photos on buttons as ID cards for its personnel. See these photos (1, 2) of Dr. von Braun, John Casani and Dr. Van Allen checking the Pioneer IV payload for the Juno II launch vehicle. |
MikeSpace
Member Posts: 121
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2020
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posted 09-15-2011 01:52 PM
Amazing collections and photos!I have one pin: the 'Welcome Back To Earth, Glenn' pin seen in upper right corner of one of the display cases above. Paid a buck at flea market, not sure of any worth or rarity but still a nice pin. Interesting, I just looked at it, the back has what appears to be a small embossed-stamp of something on the yellow back. Looked at it through an 8x loupe; doesnt look random, but can't decipher. |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 11-04-2011 10:38 AM
quote:
Originally posted by SkyMan1958:
The tie clip is of a Gemini docking with an Agena.
That's the Gemini VIII (Armstrong and Scott) about to dock with the Agena target vehicle in 1966. |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 07-12-2014 10:21 AM
quote:
Originally posted by kosmo:
I have included some pictures of some of my collection for reference.
The color John Glenn "Around the World in 89 Minutes" pin in the middle looks like a very rare item? |
kosmo
Member Posts: 553
From:
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 07-13-2014 08:41 AM
This is a Vari-Vue pin-back (multiple image lenticular), it actually shows an rocket being launched when tilted. I have had a suspicion over the years that a button existed like this, because I have a smaller square Vari-Vue lenticular that looks just like the larger round one used in the Glenn button. It's the only one I have ever seen. One of my favorite early space buttons. |
Philip
Member Posts: 6425
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 08-26-2026 04:01 AM
Started this topic 15 years ago... Just wanted to remark the early STS-1 to STS-4 buttons came with a preflight version and a post-flight version, the latter have launch and landing dates added. |
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