Description:
8-cent Apollo 8 "In the Beginning God …" postage stamp, uncanceled. Mission emblem cachet. Fine condition. Encapsulated by CAG, which authenticated the Armstrong Family Collection.Signed by the crew of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the Moon: Neil Armstrong (commander), Buzz Aldrin (lunar module pilot), and Michael Collins (command module pilot).
This is one of the famous "insurance covers" signed by the Apollo 11 crew to provide some financial security for their families in case the otherwise practically uninsurable astronauts failed to return from their mission.
Michael Collins and the other crew members personally designed the mission emblem, which shows an eagle descending to the lunar surface while holding an olive branch of peace. The design initially showed the olive branch in the eagle's beak, but when officials worried that the eagle was too menacing, the astronauts moved the branch to its extended talons.
Provenance: Neil Armstrong.
