posted 11-14-2010 08:47 PM               

Of all the items I am selling this week, I am parting with this one with the greatest reluctance. I hope it finds a good home. I like the image, which includes the moon as seen during the daytime. And I like what it says about Armstrong's character that his last official signing was to help children and the cause of historical preservation.

Comes with the COA signed by the presidents of the two societies which benefited from the prints' original sale. Please note: when Armstrong signed, he put a faint pencil mark near his signature. At some point in the last 16 years, someone tried to erase it, which created a faintly shiny area on the paper near Armstrong's signature. This is only visible when it is held to the light in a certain way, and is mentioned for the sake of accuracy.

I couldn't find any record of one of these prints being sold in the last several years. Uninscribed index cards signed by Armstrong have now sold on eBay and R+R for over $1000. This is an unquestionably genuine autograph on an interesting limited edition print. However, I know that it is probably not quite as desirable to collectors as the Calle print (even though it is more rare) or an uninscribed WSS litho (even though it is much more rare), both of which sell for about $4000 each these days.

Price: (EDIT: $1300). You could pay in up to three monthly installments if you wish.

Apollo 11 crew signed launch cover.

All three crew members stopped signing philatelic items immediately after the Apollo 15 signed covers affair, so there was a window of only a couple of years during which a limited number were autographed.

This one is a particularly nice example, and comes with a good piece of provenance: a typed (carbon?) copy of the 1970 letter sent by a collector in England to Collins at the State Department in Washington, DC. The letter states that Armstrong and Aldrin had signed the envelope "whilst attending the recent S.E.T.P. conference in Los Angeles." The sender wrote at the bottom of his copy "duly returned, signed as requested, 24th Nov 1970."

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots meeting in late September 1969 is mentioned in Hansen's "First Man." Armstrong and Charles Lindbergh were seated next to each other at the banquet, and "Lindbergh had offered Neil one, and only one, piece of advice: 'He told me never to sign autographs.'" Ironic that this cover could have been signed at that very banquet!

Actual insurance covers, signed before the mission, often sell for over $5000.[/url] Even "common" covers signed by the Apollo 11 crew sell at auction for such sums as $4500 and $4900 However, I recognize that people are willing to pay a premium for dealing with a prestigious auction house. I also know that while the full price might be $4500, after the buyer's premium and consignment fee are taken into account, the seller is getting much less than that.

And that is how I arrived at my price of: $3700. You could pay in up to four monthly installments if you wish.

All items are guaranteed to have been hand-signed by the person named. If the original buyer ever doubts an item's authenticity and any one of the hundreds of UACC Registered Dealers agrees in writing after analyzing the item in person, I will refund the full price, including shipping and handling, as long as the item is in its original condition and the buyer retains the receipt I will provide.

All items are in excellent condition unless otherwise noted.

Shipping is $6 for Priority Mail, plus whatever postal insurance the buyer wishes me to purchase.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me. I will be happy to send you a high-quality image of any item(s).

posted 01-22-2011 12:01 PM               

But perhaps I set the price too high. I could find no record of any ever being sold - I put it between the close-to-and-even-over $1000 that index cards with good provenance sell for; and the $4000 that Calle prints and uninscribed WSS photos sell for.

Therefore, I am lowering the asking price by $300, to $1900. You could still pay in three installments if you wish.

posted 09-25-2011 08:55 PM               

I would prefer a check to PayPal because of the fee, but the price will be the same either way. You could pay in two monthly installments, but I'd prefer one if at all possible.