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Accompanied by a detailed letter of provenance signed by Gene Cernan, in part: "This letter is to certify that the accompanying U.S. $2 United States Note, series 1953, bearing serial number A10241591A, was indeed carried by me on each of my spaceflights as a NASA astronaut during the Gemini and Apollo programs…This bill—which belonged to my father until his passing in 1967, and which I then later carried with me for luck and in memory of him—accompanied me on the following historic space flights:
Gemini 9A — June 3–6, 1966 — my first space flight, the 7th manned Gemini space flight, the 13th manned American flight, and only the 23rd spaceflight of all time (including X-15 flights over 100km). On this flight, the bill, carried on behalf of my father, was safely tucked with my other personal items, achieved low Earth orbit, and was exposed to the vacuum of space during my EVA.
Apollo 10 — May 18–26, 1969 — the 4th manned mission of the Apollo program, and served as a dress rehearsal of the Apollo 11 flight, testing all of the procedures, maneuvers, and equipment of a lunar landing. On this flight, the lunar module came within just 8.4 nautical miles of the lunar surface. In total, the bill spent 2 days, 13 hours and 37 minutes with us in lunar orbit.
Apollo 17 — December 7–19, 1972 — the first night launch, and the sixth and final lunar landing mission of the Apollo program. The bill, carried to the surface of the moon in my lunar module APK aboard the spacecraft 'Challenger,' was on the surface in the Taurus-Littrow valley for 3 days, 2 hours, and 59 minutes.
This unique bill remains one of the very few items ever to achieve all three categories of space flight artifact importance over three separate missions: low Earth orbit (Gemini 9A); lunar orbit (Apollo 10); and lunar surface landing (Apollo 17). It is an enduring and very personal memento of America's achievement during the 'Great Space Race' to the moon."
Additionally includes multiple photographs of Cernan with the banknote, a copy of the Apollo 17 PPK inventory (listing this "2-dollar bill" as part of a package also flown on Gemini 9 and Apollo 10), and a DVD of "The $2 Bill Documentary," in which the bill is discussed.
Notably, this $2 bill also has the unique distinction of being part of a Guinness World Record—on its return from the moon, Apollo 10 set the record for the highest speed attained by a manned vehicle: 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h) or Mach 36!
The Richard Jurek Collection.
This item is Pre-Certified by STEVE ZARELLI
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