Neil Armstrong autograph cover could bring $20,000 in California auction

Apollo 11 space flown items including a cover bearing Neil Armstrong's autograph are up for sale

As we've reported, a major Space and Aviation sale is currently underway in Paris. Amongst other highlights it is offering a couple of Sokol training space suits.

However the sale is not the only highlight on a space memorabilia collector's calendar at the moment, and for some high-quality Apollo 11 memorabilia you need to turn your eyes a third of the way round the world to California.

One great piece of moon-flown memorabilia is a 6" x 4" US flag which was taken to the moon by Buzz Aldrin. In pristine condition, it comes with a signed letter of authenticity from Buzz Aldrin's stepson giving provenance. It is listed at $6,000-$8,000.

Neil Armstrong's signed yearbook entry

All autograph collectors will be familiar with the rarity of Armstrong's signature which has caused examples to increase in value by nearly 1000% since 2000 according to the PFC40 Autograph Index.

There are two examples here: one from Armstrong's early life and the other from the Apollo 11 mission.

The former is 1947 'Retrospect' high school yearbook from Blume High School in Wapakoneta, Ohio. The Armstrong signature (on page 12) is in bold blue fountain pen and is the signature style known from his high school days.

Flown to the moon Apollo 11 cover signed by Neil Armstrong

The entire signature page (which contains others as well) is clean and crisp, despite the age of the yearbook (64 years). It is expected to achieve $7,500-$10,000.

Likely to be the top lot, however, is a scarce limited edition (EEA-33) Dow-Unicover cacheted 'Flown to the Moon' cover in blue with the signatures of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (also in blue marker).

This is expected to sell for $15,000 - $20,000 in the auction which closes on February 3.

Recent and related articles

· 2011 Review: The most valuable space collectible to sell at auction | 25 December 2011

· Concorde nose control could take Artcurial's aviation auction supersonic | 23 December 2011

· HA.com Apollo 11 space flag auction could soar beyond its '$50,000' estimate | 21 November 2011

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