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Historic silver Mercury Head dime recovered from Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft almost 38 years to the day after the Mercury capsule and its contents were lost at sea. The coin is held in a plastic case within a presentation display signed by Liberty Bell Expedition Leader Curt Newport, in full: "This 1945 Mercury Dime was carried into space on the Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft during Virgil I. 'Gus' Grissom's Mercury-Redstone Mission No. 4 on July 21, 1961. It was lost at sea and recovered, along with Liberty Bell 7, on July 20, 1999." Double-matted and framed to an overall size of 14.25 x 12.25. Display is in fine condition; coin is in very good condition with pitting and toning.
Accompanied by an additional certificate of authenticity signed by Curt Newport, as well as a lengthy handwritten description of his discovery of the capsule. A familiar part of space lore, this dime was among those carried by Grissom during his 1961 suborbital flight on Mercury-Redstone 4. A total of 52 dimes were recovered from the Liberty Bell once rediscovered at the ocean's floor. This unique item holds the distinction of voyaging to the edge of space at an altitude of 118 miles, and then sinking 16,000 feet to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the only manned spacecraft to be lost at sea-all within a few hours span. Originally part of the Leon Ford Collection.
The Richard Jurek Collection.
