posted 02-03-2025 06:00 AM               

Auction offers Neil Armstrong's reply to NASA engineer's Apollo 11 mission patch ideas

Neil Armstrong was appreciative, but as explained in his handwritten letter, it was too late. The Apollo 11 commander and his crewmates had already arrived at a design to represent the first moon landing.

Armstrong's note and the mission patch proposal that inspired it are up for auction in Goldberg Coins & Collectibles' Feb. 27 public sale in Los Angeles. The emblem art and first moonwalker's reply are part of the Clark C. McClelland collection, an archive of astronaut autographs, scale rocket models and flown memorabilia from the estate of a NASA engineer who died in 2021.

posted 02-03-2025 06:01 AM               

NASA Engineer's Historic Space Artifacts In Auction

Goldberg Coins & Collectibles in Los Angeles offers rare collection of space memorabilia including moon-flown flags and elusive Neil Armstrong autographs from the estate of long-time NASA aerospace engineer Clark C. McClelland

A rare, autographed photograph of astronaut Neil Armstrong, captured during the iconic live broadcast of his historic first steps on the moon, is among the many important items discovered in the estate of a long-time NASA aerospace engineer's unique collection of U.S. space program memorabilia and historic artifacts.

His collection will be offered for the first time at a public auction in Los Angeles and online by Goldberg Coins & Collectibles on February 27, 2025.

"The remarkable estate of NASA Spacecraft Operator (ScO) Clark C. McClelland (1936–2021) includes a museum-quality collection of vintage, original photographs spanning nearly 40 space missions from the Mercury to Apollo programs along with rare astronaut autographs, aerospace contractors' rocket models, and five American flags flown to the moon and back and a sixth flag carried earlier by John Glenn on his return mission in space," said Freeman Fisher, Director of Manuscripts & Collectibles at Goldberg Coins & Collectibles.

"My father worked on hundreds of manned and unmanned U.S. missions during his 34 years (1958-1992) with NASA at Cape Canaveral in Florida," recalled Carrie Lane, one of McClelland's daughters. "He also did projects at the Johnson Space Center in Texas."

McClelland's son-in-law Russell Lane stated: "He loved our country, NASA, and the space program, and did everything he could to inspire the next generation about science, engineering, and space."

Highlights of the more than 150 items in the auction include:

• Rare, autographed photo: A signed image of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong during his historic "giant leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969, captured from the original video transmission of July 20, 1969.

• Apollo 11 crew portraits: Individually signed photographs of the mission's three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins as well as several so-called "insurance-style covers." These are postmarked and autographed envelopes astronauts gave to their wives to sell to collectors in case of catastrophe.

• Challenger Memorabilia: Construction helmets worn by astronauts Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ellison S. Onizuka, both tragically lost in the 1986 Challenger explosion.

• Rocket models: Contractors' scale models of ballistic missile rockets by Lockheed, a nearly two-foot-tall space shuttle model with boosters by Rockwell International, and an Apollo command/service module spacecraft with escape tower by North American Aviation/Walter J. Hyatt Corporation.

• Moon mission flown American flags: Miniature flags carried to the moon and back on the Apollo 12 and Apollo 15 lunar missions.

As a NASA ScO, often referred to as a "ground astronaut," McClelland conducted extensive technical checkouts for simulated flights of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, space shuttles, and Skylab space station missions. 

The full auction catalog is available free online. Printed copies are available by mail in the U.S. for $20 each and $40 each for copies sent outside the U.S.

For more information regarding the auction, visit Goldberg's website, or contact Goldberg Coins & Collectibles at (310) 551-2646 or by email at freeman@goldbergcoins.com.

posted 02-04-2025 10:20 AM               

Goldberg's director of collectibles was aware and admitted to coming across some questionable items, which made him take on an extra effort to get everything sorted and vetted before releasing the catalog. Autographs were checked by Steve Zarelli and others were consulted on anything that didn't look quite right.