Posts: 57370
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

Posts: 986
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023

posted 10-25-2026 09:56 AM               

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Interesting collection you have there Robert.

I am not a collector of lapel pin badges (although I do have a few early Soviet Union enamel badges). However I am a collector of space covers, and many of your anniversary pin badges reflect the themes on my Apollo 11 anniversary cover cachets, especially the 20th and 50th anniversary stuff. The USS Hornet 50th anniversary badge is almost identical to a cachet I have.

Bearing that in mind I can offer one conjecture, and give you one definitive lapel pin to search for.

I have been searching for Apollo 11 anniversary covers for about five years now, and I have managed to find covers for 1st, 5th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 30th, 50th, and 55th anniversaries. I think that if cover cachets exist then it is likely badges exist too, and vice versa, so in my opinion the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th and 55th anniversary pins should be out there somewhere.

The one anniversary pin badge I can definitely say exists is for the 23rd anniversary of Apollo 11 (20th July 1992). I bought one along with a cacheted cover for that anniversary a few years ago off eBay. I was only interested in the philatelic cover which was postmarked Wapakoneta, and if I remember correctly was either the opening date or first anniversary of a Neil Armstrong local space museum in that town. (I am away from home presently so cannot provide an image, but the badge mirrored elements of the cachet - I shall post a picture when I am back home). I can't remember what I did with the pin badge - I shall have a search for it when I'm back home, and if I find it you are welcome to it and I will mail it to you.

Posts: 57370
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 10-25-2026 10:30 AM               

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Thanks Alan. I look forward to seeing the 23rd anniversary design.

Producing lapel pins can be more expensive than cachets or embroidered patches (given the set-up fees), which is why it has been my experience that more designs exist than there are lapel pins. Johnson Space Center, for example, produced a 55th anniversary design for which they offered apparel and a patch, but no pin.

Posts: 57370
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 10-25-2026 10:52 AM               

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I forgot to note about the duplicates.

They are the same design but on the back have different inscriptions. Some are issued by different organizations (e.g. NASA, Rockwell, etc.).

The 45th anniversary pin is the boot print at the lower right corner. It is identical to the pin above it, but has a different inscription on its back identifying it as a 45th anniversary release. The pin above it is for the 40th anniversary and there is another identical pin for the 50th anniversary (as well as a gold-tone edition and a similar, but thinner metal version that was released by Spaceflight Awareness).

Posts: 29
From: Canada
Registered: Jun 2009

Posts: 57370
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-07-2026 12:44 PM               

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Mark, that's a great collection! Thanks for sharing!

You have added a few pins to my want list (for example, the great 50th anniversary pin from Wapakoneta. I also had no idea they created the 20th anniversary pin for the 30th anniversary.

I am curious: do you recall the source of the "We Came in Peace" 30th pin?

The buttons make for a nice display, too. I decided to keep to the lapel pins but can definitely see the allure of the pinbacks.

Posts: 29
From: Canada
Registered: Jun 2009