The Mercury Project was initiated in October 1958, with the goals to:

1. Place a manned spacecraft in orbital flight around the earth.
2. Investigate man's performance capabilities and his ability to function in the environment of space.
3. Recover the man and the spacecraft safely.

Six manned flights were carried out between and May 1963 by the astronauts Lt.Cdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Capt. Virgil I. Grissom, Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., Lt. M. Scott Carpenter, Lt. Cdr. Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Capt. L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. The final member of the "Mercury 7" team, Capt. Donald K. Slayton did not fly on medical grounds.

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The Gemini program ran from December 1961 to November 1966 with the goals to:

1. Subject two men and supporting equipment to long duration flights -- a requirement for projected later trips to the moon or deeper space.
2. Effect rendezvous and docking with other orbiting vehicles, and to maneuver the docked vehicles in space, using the propulsion system of the target vehicle for such maneuvers.
3. Perfect methods of reentry and landing the spacecraft at a pre-selected land-landing point.
4. Gain additional information concerning the effects of weightlessness on crew members and to record the physiological reactions of crew members during long duration flights.

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Project Apollo was the final phase of the space program to "land a man on the Moon and return him safely", with the stated goals to:

1. Establish the technology to meet other national interests in space.
2. Achieve preeminence in space for the United States.
3. Carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.
4. Develop man's capability to work in the lunar environment.

The program culminated with the first manned lunar landing mission of Apollo 11 and lunar surface EVA by Neil Armstrong on July 20th 1969, but carried on building on this momentous achievement with a further six lunar missions up to December 19, 1972.

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The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The mission took place in July 1975. For the United States of America, it was the last Apollo flight, as well as the last manned space launch until the flight of the first Space Shuttle in April 1981.

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Skylab, a science and engineering laboratory, was launched into Earth orbit by a Saturn V rocket on 14 May 1973. Three crews of 3 men each visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59, and 84 days. A plethora of UV astronomy experiments were done during the Skylab lifetime, as well as detailed X-ray studies of the Sun.

Skylab fell from orbit on 11 July 1979.

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The designs on these sets were used for a number of editions in various metals: early versions were cast in silver, while later versions were made of various bronze mixes. They were made by Galaxy Medals Inc. to commemorate the Mercury program.

The earliest set shown on the card backing in an unusual gold colour was made for TWA Tours in the early 1970s, while the bronze/copper coloured ones were made more recently. The most recent one, with "The Mercury Series" card is still being produced in 2008.

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The designs on these sets were used for a number of editions in various metals: early versions were cast in silver, while later versions were made of various bronze mixes. They were made by Galaxy Medals Inc. to commemorate the Gemini program.

The set shown on the card backing was originally a silver colour, made for TWA Tours in the early 1970s. Some of the coins have acquired a heavy tone over the years.

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This set of limited edition sterling silver medals contains silver from medals carried by the Apollo XIII astronauts on their moon-flight, April 11-17, 1970.

An unknown number of medals, minted by The Franklin Mint, which were given to the crew to fly to the Moon and back, were returned to the Mint after the mission and issued as flown. Unfortunately it transpired two years later that the vast bulk of medals had been left off the flight due to weight restrictions, and that only one medal had actually flown. This was returned to the Franklin Mint, who recalled all sets, melted them down with the flown medal and re-issued them with a new mint-mark to distinguish them from the originals.

The obverse of each shows various stages of the planned Apollo journey, while the reverse shows a representation of the earth and in a panel around the perimeter, the legend: "PROJECT APOLLO * MAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE".

All coins are circular, 1.25", 32mm in diameter, struck on 28th December 1970. A total of 4967 sets were issued.

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These medals commemorate the first missions of the Apollo Program. They were produced by Galaxy Medals Inc., of Brevard County, Fla.

I've been told that they are gold-plated silver, but although they have a beautiful golden sheen in the centre circle, I'm not 100% convinced !

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Original Soviet Soyuz-Apollo joint mission medals. They were produced right after the mission was completed in 1975.

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The mission took place in July 1975. For the United States of America, it was the last Apollo flight, as well as the last manned space launch until the flight of the first Space Shuttle in April 1981.

This set is pewter/silver coloured, but copper-coloured sets were also made.

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Produced by Galaxy Medals Inc., of Brevard County, Fla. to mark the early missions of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

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These were made by Galaxy Medals Inc. to mark the Space Shuttle Discovery missions.

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Produced by Galaxy Medals Inc., of Brevard County, Fla. to mark the early missions of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

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Struck for NASA by the L.G.Balfour Company of Attleboro, MA, these medals were for distribution to NASA and space industry employees that worked on the missions. They were not originally available to the public.

However in 1973 the International Numismatic Agency, 96 Prince Street, New York, New York was appointed exclusive distributors to the public for the 13 medals. The medals distributed by the International Numismatic Agency were only available in sets which came in custom designed leatherette chests lined with silk and velvet, for $150 in sterling silver or $45 in pewter plus $1.50 postage and insurance. The sterling medals have the word "STERLING" engraved around the edge.

Long out of production, they can now only be found on the secondary market. Complete sets in their original cases are encountered much less frequently than individual medals and the number of pewter medals found far outnumber the sterling silver versions.

This album also contains a few additional later Balfour medals commemorating the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP), and the three Skylab missions.

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These medals were minted between 1970 and 1972 by The Franklin Mint to pay tribute to the men and women of the aerospace industry, and to honour the astronauts who participated in America's exploration of space.

They are made up of several sub-sets, illustrating
• Unmanned flights (early rockets, satellites and probes)
• Manned flights (from Mercury III to Apollo 11)
• Mixed other flights (from Nov.1969 to Dec.1972)

7,303 of these sets were cast in bronze, 1 set in Platinum and 20,377 sets in Sterling Silver. The original medals were only available to subscribers.

(Subsequent mintings of the second series were: coins 25-36: 6,676 each, coins 37-60: 1,196. The Apollo 11 coin was also re-issued, as the original was cast with the wrong date)

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These sets of 0.925 pure Silver Proof Medals depict major events in the early years of the NASA Space Program. They were issued by The Danbury Mint, and minted by The Birmingham Mint, the oldest operating mint in the UK.

Series 1 consists of 21 medals, each 40mm in diameter, 0.7 oz. 13,885 sets were issued.

A Special Mint Edition was also produced, also 21 medals, each one 40mm in diameter, 0.75 oz, presented in a walnut case.

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The second Men in Space set is a small set of six medals, which continues the series of Apollo missions from the end of the Danbury Mint "Men in Space" Series 1 set up to the final Apollo mission (Apollo XVII).

These are identical in form and style to the first series, being 38mm Sterling Silver (.925) medals, weighing 0.7oz each.

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"Man In Space - Commemorating US Manned Space Missions" (Mercury III to Apollo XII)

The set was issued originally on a card mounting board with 21-medals, and later as a 22-medal set. A booklet and cover were also included. Each medal has the flight mission and the rocket used inscribed on the reverse.

The designs also feature on an aluminium version with a "Man In Space" logo on the reverse.

45 files, last one added on Nov 19, 2008

This limited edition set was issued in 1987 by The National Space Society, Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 25th anniversary of America's first manned space flight.

The medals were minted by The Franklin Mint in Sterling Silver (.925), and are 38mm diameter, weighing approx 0.75oz each (24g).

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The U.S. Congress approved legislation authorizing the production of these medals; the bill was signed by President Reagan March 12, 1986, becoming Public Law 99-295. The bill authorized production of no more than 750,000 medals bearing emblems and inscriptions deemed appropriate by the Treasury Secretary. The authorizing law specified that 10 percent of the revenue from sales of the medals was to go to the Young Astronaut Council's annual budget.

The medals' obverse designs were chosen from more than 17,000 entries submitted by YAC student members from all over the country. All of the obverse designs incorporate the inscriptions LIBERTY and the year 1988.

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This set of medals was issued by the Port Canaveral Authority to mark the maiden voyages of a number of spacecraft, primarily those of the Space Shuttle fleet.

Each medal contains metal from the particular spacecraft it celebrates.

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This set of two medals was issued in 1991 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight as the first man in space.

The 3 Rouble coin was cast in 0.900 Silver by the Soviet Mint, while the other medal with Gagarin on one side and Vostok I on the other was made of metal from an (unspecified) flown Soviet spacecraft, and was one of 160,000 issued by the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

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This set of 27 bronze medals was issued by The International Mint, Attleboro, Mass. in 1970 to commemorate the missions of the U.S. Space Programme. The set was also available in .999 silver and solid platinum.

All missions from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes are covered.

More information is available from this advertisement from the August 15th 1969 edition of LIFE magazine.

55 files, last one added on Feb 26, 2010

This set is the .999 silver issue of the History of America's Men in Space set from the International Mint.

It consists of 6 Mercury medals, 10 Gemini and 11 Apollo medals. I don't have the Mercury set or Apollo 16/17.

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