tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88397073185691908842024-03-12T21:38:53.120-07:00The Jefferson Space Museum BlogWelcome to the blog site of the Jefferson Space Museum, a virtual museum of unique, space flown U.S. $2 bills. Visit the blog often to see updated news on new acquisitions, research on flown currency, or for general discussions of space artifact collecting. To see all of the bills flown in space, visit our main virtual museum gallery at www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com. You can also contact us at: info@jeffersonspacemuseum.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-48875014679521573002012-05-30T18:22:00.000-07:002012-05-30T18:22:58.654-07:00Since the <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> has the world's largest collection of space flown US $2 bills spanning the history of US manned spaceflight, we have always been interested in other space flown currency. Part of the historic lore around astronauts carrying currency into space includes the tradition of the crews signing one dollar bills, flying them, and turning them over to the National Aeronautical Association (NAA) for their official flight certifications post the mission. Over the years, I have talked to astronauts about these bills -- all have recalled them, and recalled turning them over to the NAA official involved...but no one knowing what ever happened to them. I have also spoken with the NAA, and senior folks there were also aware of the tradition, but had no record of whatever happened to the bills. Then one day I was researching on the Smithsonian website, and stubbled across the bills, which you can see by clicking<a href="http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/collection.cfm?collid=1487&startrow=1&showrecords=all" target="_blank"> here</a>, and then scrolling down to the middle of the page where you will see groupings of dollar bills signed by all the Apollo flight crews. These bills all flew on their respective Apollo missions. Amazingly, these bills are not displayed anywhere at the Smithsonian, but are in storage. But at least -- like the Jefferson Space Museum -- they can be enjoyed online. These bills represent the greatest assemblage of space flown US $1 bills in existence across all of the Apollo manned missions. A collection like this would be impossible for private collectors to assemble. But there is hope to acquire one or two of the bills. Note that some flights have 4 bills (one for each crew member, and one for the NAA) which were all turned over. Other flights, like Apollo 14 and 13, only have one bill in the archive...perhaps the crew members kept their bills. One can always hope! :) In the end, however, these bills represent an important part of the tradition of US astronauts carrying currency into space -- as important of an influence as the old fighter pilot short-snorter tradition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mc1V8JXDdOw/T8bHKPa3oaI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/W1FxSmDNEN4/s1600/A19770430000CP01_flown+Apollo+11+NAA+bill+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mc1V8JXDdOw/T8bHKPa3oaI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/W1FxSmDNEN4/s400/A19770430000CP01_flown+Apollo+11+NAA+bill+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of the 4 flown one dollar bills from the Apollo 11 flight used by the crew to certify their flight with the National Aeronautical Association (NAA). This bill is part of the Smithsonian collection, which has all the NAA bills from the manned Apollo flights. Not that the bill is crew signed, as well as signed by the NAA representative who received the bill from the crew upon their return. </td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-53282514859426697872012-04-16T18:23:00.002-07:002012-04-16T18:23:45.734-07:00<a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">The Jefferson Space Museum</a> logo takes a trip to the edge of space! A few weeks back, we blogged about<a href="http://www.jpaerospace.com/" target="_blank"> JP Aerospace</a> and their wonderful program of <a href="http://www.jpaerospace.com/pongsat/index.htm" target="_blank">pong-sat student space experiments</a> using high altitude balloons. We decided to support their noble effort, and sponsor a mission, sending the JSM logo up to the edges of the atmosphere -- and below you can see some of the pictures from the mission, which took place at the end of March. We love the first picture -- if you look closely, you can see the moon out to the far left, deep in space. These are the inital pictures we have received back from JP Aerospace. Many more are on their way. We hope you enjoy -- and if you ever want to do something special with your company logo, or a special message -- why not help out a great cause and <a href="http://www.jpaerospace.com/100spacead.html" target="_blank">sponsor</a> a pong-sat mission today?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzdVY0qg84Y/T4zDqdosOJI/AAAAAAAAAZM/5kytSN3DldQ/s1600/JSM+Logo+Moon+and+Space.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MzdVY0qg84Y/T4zDqdosOJI/AAAAAAAAAZM/5kytSN3DldQ/s320/JSM+Logo+Moon+and+Space.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The JSM logo on its trip to the edge of space -- with the moon out in the distance!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Af-2Z_qbus/T4zDyWMsE7I/AAAAAAAAAZU/GK5spGuMQVg/s1600/DSCF0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Af-2Z_qbus/T4zDyWMsE7I/AAAAAAAAAZU/GK5spGuMQVg/s320/DSCF0122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronaut Tom gets some of his first looks out toward the curve of the earth, high above the clouds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZR1KDoMxKo/T4zD3B4XLdI/AAAAAAAAAZc/tLSxzZtPDWI/s1600/DSCF0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZR1KDoMxKo/T4zD3B4XLdI/AAAAAAAAAZc/tLSxzZtPDWI/s320/DSCF0125.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ground Control to Major Tom.... :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p-1C9c-hFx0/T4zD8nAElDI/AAAAAAAAAZk/-YBkJD5WebU/s1600/The+Balloon+Pops.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p-1C9c-hFx0/T4zD8nAElDI/AAAAAAAAAZk/-YBkJD5WebU/s320/The+Balloon+Pops.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All good things must come to an end: the balloon pops, and Tom is set to come back to Earth.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8X_2LU-HH4c/T4zEA1gNZTI/AAAAAAAAAZs/iA9AUrrsIjI/s1600/Coming+in+for+a+landing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8X_2LU-HH4c/T4zEA1gNZTI/AAAAAAAAAZs/iA9AUrrsIjI/s320/Coming+in+for+a+landing.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moments before landing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-50091209114599142902012-03-28T18:30:00.001-07:002012-03-28T18:30:16.314-07:00Last week, it was reported by Michele Orzano at <a href="http://www.coinworld.com/articles/space-relic-series-1963a-20-frn-sells/" target="_blank">Coinworld</a> that a lunar surface flown $20 bill sold via private treaty sale for "well into the six figures" -- an amazing amount, but testament to the inherent value of these rare items. Michele wrote a further follow up <a href="http://www.coinworld.com/articles/bart-clarifies-his-ownership-of-apollo-14-spa/" target="_blank">article</a> on this particular bills provenance. A good read, and it makes one wonder what the entire Jefferson collection would be worth on the secondary market, given the price paid for this singular bill.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-88678354303691377892012-03-27T20:17:00.001-07:002012-03-27T20:17:07.511-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drhDuEW3U6Y/T3KAN4k4eNI/AAAAAAAAAY0/_UWDElZ695g/s1600/Cooper+Flown+Bill_+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-drhDuEW3U6Y/T3KAN4k4eNI/AAAAAAAAAY0/_UWDElZ695g/s320/Cooper+Flown+Bill_+front.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This large note US $2 bill flew on the last flight of the Mercury space program in the space suit pocket of astronaut Gordon Cooper. This bill, along with all of the Jefferson Space Museum bills, has been officially slabbed and certified by PMG. Note the hand written flight certification and autograph on the bill by astronaut Cooper. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23ooejAmbrQ/T3KAXhHn8lI/AAAAAAAAAY8/YusKLX1HDqM/s1600/Cooper+Flown+Bill_back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23ooejAmbrQ/T3KAXhHn8lI/AAAAAAAAAY8/YusKLX1HDqM/s320/Cooper+Flown+Bill_back.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the back of each bill's label in the PMG slab, the bill's flight status is referenced. </td></tr>
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The <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> is pleased to announce that all of the space flown bills in the collection have been officially certified and slabbed by <a href="http://www.pmgnotes.com/" target="_blank">Paper Money Guaranty</a>, one of the leading paper money authentication and grading services. We took the bills to the PMG offices in Sarasota back in November. We presented PMG with the originals (and copies for their files, as we retain the originals) of all of the background paper work on each bill -- their history, their flight provenance, and all relevant documentation. Copies of this official documentation will always reside with PMG. We took this step of further authenticating these bills for their appeal to the numismatic community, after PMG's sister company <a href="http://www.ngccoin.com/index.aspx" target="_blank">NGC</a> certified Buzz Aldrin's lunar surface flown <a href="http://www.ha.com/c/press-release.zx?releaseId=1427" target="_blank">Peach Dollar</a> from Apollo 11. NGC also slabs, grades and certifies space flown Robbins and Flightline medallions, making it a natural for us to select PMG for the space flown $2 bills from our collection.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-32144478542670422332012-02-20T07:22:00.000-08:002012-02-20T07:22:06.825-08:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C9jD-CBHWSw/T0JkCNBqcrI/AAAAAAAAAYs/iwx_dCW4Q7k/s1600/1A+John+Glenn+Friendship+7+Flown+Bill_Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C9jD-CBHWSw/T0JkCNBqcrI/AAAAAAAAAYs/iwx_dCW4Q7k/s320/1A+John+Glenn+Friendship+7+Flown+Bill_Front.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This bill is one of only a small number of $2 bills to have flown with John Glenn on his historic space flight. This bill was placed aboard the capsule by ground support crew member Joe Tramel. </td></tr>
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50 years ago today, John Glenn rocketed into orbit on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Atlas_6" target="_blank">Friendship 7</a>-- making him the first American to orbit the Earth as the US began to catch up to the Russians in the great space race. The <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> is proud to have a $2 bill that flew along with John on that historic flight. The bill is pictured above, and you can read more about it in the Gallery Section of the museum <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">website</a>, or here on the blog by clicking <a href="http://jefferson-in-space.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=19" target="_blank">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-83085139176096102172012-01-31T04:50:00.000-08:002012-01-31T04:50:42.239-08:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiqL2yAH2x8/Tyfi2kCb8QI/AAAAAAAAAYU/cmMVRbDFl_o/s1600/Away51_uptop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiqL2yAH2x8/Tyfi2kCb8QI/AAAAAAAAAYU/cmMVRbDFl_o/s320/Away51_uptop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JP Aerospace will send your logo to the edge of space for as low as $400. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6al1jaX90E/Tyfi6Np5-aI/AAAAAAAAAYc/FjsjqMX_u0A/s1600/chairuphi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6al1jaX90E/Tyfi6Np5-aI/AAAAAAAAAYc/FjsjqMX_u0A/s320/chairuphi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Japanese TV program took advantage of the program to send a chair into space and video taped it for an episode!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zceqGTCnXv0/Tyfi9Mhun3I/AAAAAAAAAYk/SjWsVSE39Z4/s1600/Angle_Astro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zceqGTCnXv0/Tyfi9Mhun3I/AAAAAAAAAYk/SjWsVSE39Z4/s320/Angle_Astro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Samsung sent their Galaxy phone into near orbit. Very cool!</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> to go to the edge of space, thanks to the good folks at <a href="http://www.jpaerospace.com/100spacead.html" target="_blank">JP Aerospace</a>. For a small fee, they will send your logo to the edge of space, and send you back pictures. For a few dollars more, you can send up practically anything (heck, look on their website -- someone sent up a chair! And Samsung sent up a phone!) Very cool. Astronaut Tom will very soon be a real astro! (Well, almost...) It also supports a good cause, in that each sponsored ad supports student experiements that fly up on the mission. 4 missions are slated to launch come March 31st. The Jefferson Space Museum will be along for the ride: we've booked our spot. How about you?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-42373316276010243312012-01-30T17:10:00.000-08:002012-01-30T17:10:02.344-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1oQrNZWn9H4/Tyc-VBpbgII/AAAAAAAAAYM/YyBv6cBQ9sU/s1600/Apollo+1+Star+Voyagers+1_0+by+Apollo+1+Artist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1oQrNZWn9H4/Tyc-VBpbgII/AAAAAAAAAYM/YyBv6cBQ9sU/s320/Apollo+1+Star+Voyagers+1_0+by+Apollo+1+Artist.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
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Just added the above wonderful piece to our growing space-art collection. This is a painting by an emerging NJ artist named John Darvie, who paints under the name Apollo1. You can visit his gallery, <a href="http://www.apollo1gallery.com/" target="_blank">Apollo1Gallery </a>to see his amazing work. This painting is an acrylic/oil work, measuring 14" x 18". It pays homage to the crew of Apollo 1 (Grissom, White, Chaffee) who perished in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. It's a wonderful addition to our space art collection, and I encourage all to go to John's site, and support his work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-61659184136258378832012-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:002012-01-20T18:15:37.299-08:00We are honored to announce that <a href="http://www.euromoney.com/Article/2963917/Category/24/ChannelPage/8949/Dollar-appreciation-Buy-me-to-the-moon.html" target="_blank">Euromoney magazine</a> has published a short little blurb article, both online and in their January, 2012, edition, about the Jefferson Space Museum. What a thrill! Euromoney has a circulation of around 140,000, and is the world's most prestigious monthly finance magazine read by central bankers, CFO's, CEO's, and the like. And I just love the title: "Buy me to the moon." <br />
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For those of you who have not visited our gallery of space flown $2 bills -- please do so by visiting the main museum website by clicking <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. Enjoy! (And don't forget to stop at the <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/JeffersonSpaceMuseum" target="_blank">gift shop</a>! I highly recommend the note pads....very cool.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-47740356839735864812011-12-29T15:35:00.000-08:002011-12-29T15:35:17.660-08:00Thanks for all the emails! We appreciate them. And yes, this is just the blog site of the Jefferson Space Museum. To visit the actual virtual museum, with all the bills cataloged with images and their history, go to <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">The Jefferson Space Museum</a>. <br />
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This blog site is simply a place where we will update news and space information relevant to the museum.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-34999112365805729072011-12-28T08:55:00.000-08:002011-12-28T08:55:11.712-08:00Well, after our first full month of being open, I am thrilled to announce we have had hundreds of visitors from many points on the globe -- in fact, the <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> of flown US $2 bills has been visited by people from 26 different countries -- and from hundreds of cities in those countries. We've had visitors from the following countries (listed in order of their rank in terms of total number of visitors): the US, China, Russia, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Austria, Ukraine, Canda, Australia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Greece, Belarus, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Colombia, Iceland, Cote D'Ivoire, and New Zeland. Thank you all! Please spread the word - we are always open! And if you like what you see, please do send us a note at <a href="mailto:info@jeffersonspacemuseum.com">info@jeffersonspacemuseum.com</a>. And don't forget to visit the <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/jeffersonspacemuseum" target="_blank">gift shop</a>. :) After all, what would be a trip to a museum, even a virtual one, without a trip to the <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/jeffersonspacemuseum" target="_blank">gift shop</a>???? (My personal favorite is the note pad.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-71046531679311984792011-12-14T04:00:00.000-08:002011-12-14T04:00:05.692-08:00On December 14, 1972, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt finish up their last EVA, and board the lunar module for their ride back to lunar orbit. The last two humans to walk on the moon leave the surface, and bring to a close one of the greatest adventures of the 20th Century. Gene Cernan becomes the "last man" to leave his bootprint in lunar soil. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RuDUmp045mU/TuiPaqv5cPI/AAAAAAAAAX8/QanqtxPEaew/s1600/AS17-149-22847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RuDUmp045mU/TuiPaqv5cPI/AAAAAAAAAX8/QanqtxPEaew/s320/AS17-149-22847.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wonderful shot of the lunar module's ascent, as taken by Ron Evans orbiting in the command module.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HNidQh10ak0/TuiPlSSbJYI/AAAAAAAAAYE/tFFIxeXZDlI/s1600/AS17-149-22857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HNidQh10ak0/TuiPlSSbJYI/AAAAAAAAAYE/tFFIxeXZDlI/s320/AS17-149-22857.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gorgeous, closeup view of the lunar module taken by Ron Evans as it approaches for docking to prepare for the return trip home. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-38829221020232248492011-12-12T09:53:00.000-08:002011-12-12T09:56:28.720-08:00Bravo to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge" target="_blank">Cambridge University</a>, for putting 4,000 of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton" target="_blank">Sir Isaac Newton's</a> papers <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2072992/Original-manuscript-Sir-Isaac-Newtons-famous-laws-motion-available-online.html" target="_blank">online</a>, expanding the world of the virtual museum, and making available for people these most important works. Humanity would never have been able to reach the stars if not for the ground breaking work of Sir Isaac. (Remember the line from the Apollo 13 movie?) The Jefferson Space Museum welcomes this virtual effort!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-33005350492673721822011-12-11T06:22:00.001-08:002011-12-11T06:31:45.678-08:0039 years ago today, on December 11, 1972, the last manned crew of the Apollo lunar program began their four day exploration of the Taurus Littrow valley.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dramatic panoramic view of the lunar module Challenger, and the lunar rover vehicle. Panoramas of this kind can be obtained by visiting the good folks @ <a href="http://www.moonpans.com/">www.moonpans.com</a>. </td></tr>
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Along with Commander Gene Cernan, the first scientist in space <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Schmitt" target="_blank">Jack Schmitt</a>, a geologist, would capture some of my favorite imagery of the Apollo program. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A8jzaFVq9Io/TuS9_ju0m3I/AAAAAAAAAX0/gu88uT2Ji3Q/s1600/AS17-134-20384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A8jzaFVq9Io/TuS9_ju0m3I/AAAAAAAAAX0/gu88uT2Ji3Q/s320/AS17-134-20384.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Schmitt, with the falg and Earth, is photographed by Gene Cernan on December 11, 1972. You can see Gene's reflection in the sun shield of Jack's helmet. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-87436622298993299572011-12-10T06:41:00.001-08:002011-12-10T06:51:31.231-08:00After three days of travel, and conducting many experiments, the crew of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17" target="_blank">Apollo 17</a> performs lunar orbit insertion manuevers that place them firmly in orbit around the moon as they prepare for the last lunar landing of the Apollo program. The crew also conducts lunar orbit photography and observation activities as well. Visit the mission flown $2 bill of Commander Gene Cernan in the gallery section of the <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earthrise over the lunar surface on December 10, 1972, as seen from the lunar module Challenger. The flown $2 in the Jefferson Space Museum is stowed away in Gene's PPK in the lunar module, and will descend to the lunar surface the next day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLmLOSflNGY/TuNw_w-uYSI/AAAAAAAAAXk/iU1bCg870RE/s1600/AS17-147-22465_Taurus+Littrow+Landing+Site+from+CSM+in+Orbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLmLOSflNGY/TuNw_w-uYSI/AAAAAAAAAXk/iU1bCg870RE/s320/AS17-147-22465_Taurus+Littrow+Landing+Site+from+CSM+in+Orbit.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apollo 17 landing site in the valley of Taurus Littrow as photographed on December 10, 1972, from the command module America. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-52259322530054667162011-12-03T08:28:00.001-08:002011-12-03T10:10:42.077-08:00This coming Wednesday, December 7, 2011, will mark the 39th anniversary of the launch of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17" target="_blank">Apollo 17</a> -- the last of NASA's manned lunar missions. That mission launched in dramatic fashion at night, lighting up the skies over Florida, to bring to close one of the greatest chapters of US exploration. Aboard that mission was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Cernan" target="_blank">Commander Eugene Cernan</a> -- the last man to leave his bootprint on the moon. For luck, and in memory and homage to his father, Gene also took with him a $2 bill that flew on his other flights --- and was given to him by his father to fly on his first space flight. It is amazing to think that we have not returned to the moon in all those years....but, you can visit the bill that historically flew with and landed on the moon by visiting it at the<a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank"> museum</a>! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/images/stories/apollo-17-launch-02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apollo 17 Launches on December 7, 1972 for the last manned lunar mission of Apollo - on board is Gene Cernan's GT9A and A10 flown $2 bill, which was given to him by his father after his father carried it for years in his wallet for luck. The bill is now a part of the Jefferson Space Museum collection. View it at <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/">www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-4372711990787437002011-11-30T07:40:00.001-08:002011-12-03T10:14:04.250-08:00A fantastic new post about the museum just hit Paul Fraser Collectibles wonderful blog. The <a href="http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/News/Jefferson-Space-Museum-displays-a-world-class-collection-of-space-flown-$2-bills/9081.page" target="_blank">article</a> is a very nice tribute and overview of the museum, how I started the collection, and my interests in the bill. You will enjoy the other article's on Paul's site, too, so make sure you poke around -- especially in the space collectibles sections. UPDATE: And they did an expanded version of the article, with more pictures of the bills, and more background on the collection. Read this version <a href="http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/News/Richard-Jurek's-space-flown-$2-bills---the-story-of-the-Jefferson-Space-Museum/9088.page" target="_blank">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-23895670830230762442011-11-29T08:09:00.001-08:002011-11-29T08:10:37.292-08:00Noted collector and paper money blogger Tom Chao wrote about the new Jefferson Space Museum on his blog site. You can see the post by clicking <a href="http://nutmegcollector.blogspot.com/2011/11/two-dollar-bill-space-travelers.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Tom's blog is great! If you are at all interested in Paper money, you really need to check it out. Also his famous world paper money gallery, which can be found <a href="http://www.tomchao.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. Thanks for the blog post, Tom!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-81846917859026092872011-11-27T07:48:00.001-08:002011-11-28T17:30:52.424-08:00Earlier this month, I spent time down at the<a href="http://www.astronautscholarship.org/" target="_blank"> Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's</a> annual gathering at the Kennedy Space Center. On my way down, I stopped off in Sarasota at the office of the <a href="http://www.pmgnotes.com/" target="_blank">Paper Money Guaranty</a> folks to show them the flown Jefferson bills. They've got some fatastic offices and people down there. We spent some time chatting about flown currency, and I left them with a lot of resource material, provenance paperwork, etc. (Copies, of course....) And they were kind enough to certify and slab the bills in their PMG holders. I got the idea from going to the World's Fair of Money exposition in Chicago this past year, seeing all the wonderful exhibits of historic paper money....all of which was usually PMG slabbed, cataloged, and certified. It was a great experience, and another attempt by the Jefferson Space Museum to educate those in the paper money world about these unique bills. Afterward, I took the bills back to the ASF show, and here is a picture of Gene Cernan with the JSM bill of his that flew on all three of his missions, including landing on the moon during Apollo 17. It was a nice opportunity to reunite Gene with the bill, and we had a great time chatting about it once again. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQsiBwJaNEE/TtJdaEVOLLI/AAAAAAAAAXM/9G5C2X4-eD8/s1600/Cernan+with+3+times+flown+bill_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PQsiBwJaNEE/TtJdaEVOLLI/AAAAAAAAAXM/9G5C2X4-eD8/s320/Cernan+with+3+times+flown+bill_small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-3666612274416896172011-11-25T07:36:00.001-08:002011-11-27T09:12:05.060-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And in an ultimate display of vanity -- and fun loving commercialism -- we've launched a <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/jeffersonspacemuseum" target="_blank">Jefferson Space Museum</a> gift shop, with logoed items that are, ahem, reasonably priced. Some cool items. And best yet, they feature the museum logo, which was custom designed for us by noted German space artist and illustrator<a href="http://www.vanravenswaay.com/" target="_blank"> Detlev van Ravenswaay</a>. Now how cool is that?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn6R13Q49QE/TtJvRrAqdhI/AAAAAAAAAXU/X8oqlVOEKXE/s1600/skinny_tomlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn6R13Q49QE/TtJvRrAqdhI/AAAAAAAAAXU/X8oqlVOEKXE/s1600/skinny_tomlarge.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-50729497394864083292011-11-23T07:45:00.001-08:002011-11-26T10:32:45.146-08:00After many years of collecting the bills for the Jefferson Space Museum, we have finally reached a point to launch a full fledged virtual museum! The site will go live on Sunday, November 27, 2011. Check out our new place on the web at <a href="http://www.jeffersonspacemuseum.com/" target="_blank">The Jefferson Space Museum</a>. (Many thanks to <a href="http://fishidesign.com/" target="_blank">Fish-I Design & Video</a> for their work on the site.) And please join us here in the conversation, as we post to this blog updates on new acquisitions, research on the bills in the collection, and discuss space artifact collecting in general.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-42045839717036174802008-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:002009-11-17T20:34:53.701-08:001953 Series A Jeffferson Flown with John Glenn on Friendship 7<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/SuJ0YHlTYMI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/sT_krz0HwdU/s1600-h/Glenn+Faith+7+Flown+%242+bill.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396003261244465346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/SuJ0YHlTYMI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/sT_krz0HwdU/s400/Glenn+Faith+7+Flown+%242+bill.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/SuEqxHR_CmI/AAAAAAAAAUI/NOIIX8GEMpI/s1600-h/Glenn+Faith+7+Flown+%242+bill.JPG"></a>This $2 bill, serial number A60730193, accompanied Lt. Col. John Glenn on the historic, first manned orbital flight of the US space program aboard the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962. The spacecraft, and the bills onboard, made 3 full orbits, making John Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth -- and spent a full 4 hours and 56 minutes, before spashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Together, they flew 75,679 miles and reaching a maximum velocity of 17,526 miles per hour! This bill is hand signed by Lt. Col. Glenn, his backup pilot, and mission Capcomm and fellow Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, and Joe Trammel, the launch crew member who placed the bill in the capsule and wrote "Good Luck, John" on it. The bill is further flight certified on a parchment certificate, also hand signed by Glenn and Carpenter, and notarized May 9th, 1962, as having flown on the mission. This bill, along with other $1 bills and a few $2 bills, are some of the earliest known currency to ever fly into space. The flight of these bills caused a bit of a stir in the press and among Congressmen, who expressed fear that "such articles" might jam the delicate electronic equipment aboard the ship. In press reports at the time, one writer termed the bills as "contraband cargo of souvenir dollars", and an unnamed space agency officially called their flight on the craft "foolish business." When Glenn testified in front of the House Space Committee, he claimed at the time to only know of one $1 bill to have flown, wrapped in a wire bundle behind the control panel. But a NASA spokesperson is later quoted as reporting that some 200 bills (mostly $1 bills) were hidden aboard Glenn's spacecraft by launch crew personnel. Further research at the John Glenn Achives, however, has turned up a memo dated March 9th, 1962, written by Charles L. Buckley, Jr., of the NASA Security Office. According to Mr. Buckley's memo, "approximately $52 to $56 or a total of 32 bills of one and two dollar denominations were place aboard the capsule by a McDonnell Aircraft employee..." So the universe of flown bills from this mission are extremely limited to just 32 bills. According to Same Beddingfield, Kenndy Space Center employee number 4, and the engineer responsible for the weight and balance of the Friendship 7 capsule, this was the first flight in US manned spaceflight history to carry a $2 bill, and the majority of bills flown were of the $1 variety on this flight. (For more on Sam, please see the post below.) An amazing bill and one of the very, very few surviving examples of flown $2 bills from THE VERY FIRST FLIGHT into space for a Jefferson. I'm proud to have this historic flown bill as a part of the Jefferson-in-Space Museum!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-90852492042809579002008-01-26T19:53:00.001-08:002009-11-17T20:31:18.411-08:00First mission with a $2 bill aboard? Friendship 7<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/SwN3ToIiWdI/AAAAAAAAAUY/pAdfu001yCw/s1600/sam+b.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405295156849170898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/SwN3ToIiWdI/AAAAAAAAAUY/pAdfu001yCw/s200/sam+b.JPG" border="0" /></a> While down at Kennedy Space Center for the 2009 Astronaut Scholarship Apollo 12 40th Anniversary dinner, I made the treck over to the Space Walk Hall of Fame in Titusville (a wonderful, but often ignored gem of a private museum). I had the pleasure of meeting Sam Beddingfield -- KSC employee #4, who worked at NASA from Mercury through to the Shuttle program, being the Shuttle program's first employee, and retiring as the program's Deputy Director. During Mercury, Sam was responsible for overseeing the weight and balance of the spacecraft. I spoke with him about flown currency -- and the Glenn bill from Joe Tramel. He remembered Joe very clearly, and told me that the $2 bills were the rarer of bills flown on early spacecraft. In fact, he told me, only 3 one dollar bills flew on the first Mercury flight with Alan Shepard. They, too, were autographed. He owns one of the three. No $2 bills flew on that flight. This year, I was at the Kansas Cosmosphere, and was shown the surviving two flown one dollar bills from that flight: no $2 bills survived. So the Glenn $2 bills are the first exemplars of $2 bills ever flown in space aboard a manned US space craft.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-6628174112452263912008-01-26T19:53:00.000-08:002009-10-23T21:29:56.462-07:00Joe Trammel - The Man Responsible for This Flown JeffersonJoe Trammel worked for McDonnel Aircraft on the Mercury spacecraft, and his signature is on this particular flown $2 bill. As it happens, Joe is the one responsible for the flying of this particular Jefferson aboard Friendship 7. The video below is from KETC, LIVING ST. LOUIS Producer Jim Kirchherr, who attended a reunion of the McDonnel Aircraft crew that built the Mercury Capsule. The reunion has been organized by the wife of Joe Trammel because he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's and planned the reunion to see his old teammates and look back on the times they spent together. This video is one of the most moving explorations of these critical ground support personnel....and it also tells the story, right in the middle of it, of the flown currency on John Glenn's historic flight, and Joe's role in cataloging them. An amazing, and moving tribute!<br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v8DGExRtaSs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v8DGExRtaSs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-16703309752715555092008-01-26T19:52:00.000-08:002009-10-31T18:42:26.363-07:00Official NASA Memo About Glenn Flown CurrencyI received a copy of a March 9, 1962 NASA memo from the John Glenn Archives that gives insightful information not only on the bills flown on Glenn's flight, but the formation of the tradition of flying bills on the early Mercury flights. This memo, which was sent to me by Jeff Thomas, archivist of the John Glenn Archives at Ohio State University, is located in the John Glenn archives, Non-Senate Papers sub-roup, NASA series, Mercury 7 sub-series, box 66, folder 7. It was written by Charles L. Buckley, Jr., NASA Security Officer, Atlantic Missle Range, stationed at the Launch Operations Directorate, Cocoa Beach, Florida, and sent to Lloyd Blankenbaker, Director of Security, at NASA in Washington. The memo included newspaper clipings from the Associated Press and the UPI, all of which discussed the issue of bills being carried into space in his capsule, and concerns by Senate officials that this would cause a hazard. The memo copies R. R. Gilruth, W.C. Williams, G.M. Preston, Col J.C. Powers, Deke Slayton, and Glenn himself.<br /><br />The memo states, in full:<br /><br />"This is a report based on recent news releases similar to those attached and distributed by the Associated Press and UPI. The report concerns money placed aboard Col. Glenn's capsule just prior to the February 20th flight.<br /><br />Investigation has revealed that two bundles of bills having a total value of approximately $52 to $56 or a total of 32 bills of one and two dollar denomination were placed aboard the capsule by a McDonnell Aircraft employee under the direction of the McDonnell Launch Pad Foreman and approved by the McDonnell Pad Leader and NASA Inspectors. The bills belonged to both NASA and McDonnell employees who were assigned to work on the launch pad and capsule. The money was placed in the capsule at 10:30 pm, February 19th during the early part of the final countdown. It was secured in thermofit tubing which was attached to a wire bundle (group of wires) by nylon cord and then low temperature heat was applied. The heat shrunk the tubing, making it tight and fast to the wire bundle. This method secured it in a manner safe for flight. In fact, it was more secure than some of the necessary equipment the Astronaut took with him. One bundle was located on the main trunk line and the other attached to a wire bundle under the head rest. There was absolutely no danger of "jamming delicate equipment" as stated in the news articles. There was no danger of a conflagration due to external heat since the money was within the internal capsule atmosphere. The money was as clean as the outside of the Astronaut's suit or the typed flight instructions on the instrument panel. NASA inspectors verified and approved the installation.<br /><br />Every capsule, with the exception of "Capsule 8-A" has carried money installed in approximately the same manner. Alan Shepard's capsule for MR-3 flight carried an American flag, which has been presented to a local elementary school. Several officials questioned mentioned that they were aware of the tradition, and indeed, that is what the action has become. They stated that "it's just as American as apple pie." The people closely associated with the Astronauts and the capsule have a warm and tender feeling that is difficult to understand for outsiders and are justly proud of their work. The money is tangible evidence that they have been close to the Astronaut and capsule and affords them a memento similar to those kept by World War II veterans, which were called "short snorters."<br /><br />The money was exstracted on February 21st at approximately 5:00 pm after the capsule was returned to Cape Canaveral for examination. Since that time, it has been kept intact and at the present time it is in the Astronaut Quarters, Hanger S, where it awaits Col. Glenn's signature. The dollar bill shown to the press by Col. Powers was not aboard the capsule and was given to him for autographs by a man who failed to get his dollar aboard the capsule before flight.<br /><br />Although this procedure has become tradition, it was confined to those workers closely associated with installation and inspection of the capsule and with the knowledge of NASA and McDonnell officials."<br /><br />A great memo, that not only establishes the tradition of carry the bills being tied to the Short Snorter tradition, but also the exact chain of custody and provenance of these bills until they were signed and notarized by Glenn post flight. A great memo now in the Jefferson-in-Space Museum archives. Many thanks to the Ohio State University John Glenn Archives archivist Jeff Thomas (what an appropriate last name!) for providing me with a copy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839707318569190884.post-17270374051495915352008-01-25T16:37:00.000-08:002011-02-08T18:56:02.295-08:001917 Jefferson Carried Aboard Mercury 9<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/R2RT_gWs_II/AAAAAAAAAHU/ndYKNnYaK_4/s1600-h/1a.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144329024845970562" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/R2RT_gWs_II/AAAAAAAAAHU/ndYKNnYaK_4/s320/1a.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/R2RTrgWs_HI/AAAAAAAAAHM/aNM3aMeqXlE/s1600-h/1b.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144328681248586866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MK_aBXqSgPU/R2RTrgWs_HI/AAAAAAAAAHM/aNM3aMeqXlE/s320/1b.JPG" /></a></div><div></div><div>This large paper US $2 note was flown by Colonel Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. within the pocket of his flight suit aboard Mercury capsule Faith 7, the last flight of the Mercury Program, and the longest US manned flight at that time. Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 15, 1963, Tom and Gordo flew 22.5 orbits around the Earth (at an altitude of 165.9 by 100.3 statue miles) during an elapsed mission time of 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds. Together, they travelled 546,167 miles at a speed of 17,547 miles per hour. If you click on the scanned image, you will see that it was folded into 8ths so that Cooper could fit it snuggly into his flight suit. The bill is dated 1917, carries the serial number D92207287A, and bares Cooper's hand signed, flight certification to the lower right. According to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, this particular bill was one of over 146.4 million printed between January 25, 1922, and September 30, 1927. It is the only $2 bill known to have flown on this mission, as it was a singular and personal memento taken by Cooper for himself. (He also carried a $1 silver certificate as well in a similar fashion, so George was along for the ride to keep Tom company!) Given the availablity of more modern design Jeffersons at the time of the flight -- for example, the 1953 Series A bill flown on the Glenn flight -- I wonder what compelled Cooper to take this particular bill with him. Was the early 1917 date of significance to him? Was it a bill that was given to him by someone special? Was it a lucky charm -- since he kept it in his suit pocket, instead of stowed away in the capsule? And why a $2 bill?My personal belief is that Gordo's mission was scheduled for and achieved 22 orbits, the longest spaceflight at that time, and so he took a $2 bill and kept it with him on his person as a personal talisman and goodluck charm for the success of the mission with a double-2 goal on orbits. Since Colonel Cooper has passed away, we probably will never know the answer for sure. But one thing remains for sure. It is one of the more unusual and unique Jeffersons to have ever orbited the Earth during the Mercury program. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0