Apollo 11 Silver

Silver Apollo 11 Coins and Rounds at Silver.com

In 1961, the American people were reeling after the Soviet Union landed the first major blow of the Space Race. The Soviets had successfully launched the first satellite in human history into orbit with Sputnik. In response, President John F. Kennedy proposed an ambitious national goal for the country to achieve before the end of the decade. In a speech to the nation, he proposed that the nation dedicate itself to “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth” before the decade was out. On July 20, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 touched down on the surface of the moon in the Eagle lunar lander and returned to Earth four days later to achieve President Kennedy’s goal. 2019 marks the 50^th anniversary of this crowning achievement in the Space Race. You’ll find a variety of commemorative 50th-anniversary silver bullion products available to purchase online at Silver.com.

Background on the Apollo 11 Mission

The Apollo 11 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, 1969. The mission module consisted of a command module unit, support module unit, and the Eagle lunar landing module. The spacecraft was powered into orbit by Saturn V rockets and marked the fifth crewed mission in NASA’s Apollo program. The crew of Apollo 11 included three men. Michael Collins served as the pilot of the command module and was the only man in the crew not to set foot on the surface of the moon. Neil Armstrong was the mission commander and was accompanied to the moon’s surface by Eagle landing pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Armstrong was the first human being to ever set foot on the surface of the moon. After six hours in the Eagle lunar lander, Armstrong emerged down a ladder to step onto the surface of another celestial body for the first time in the history of mankind. He was later joined by Aldrin and the two spent nearly three hours outside the spacecraft exploring the moon’s surface and would spend 21.5 hours in all on the moon’s surface. After 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes, and 35 seconds in space, the crew of Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean and were recovered by a specialized crew from NASA and the United States Navy.

North American Mint Silver Round Collection

The most robust offering for the Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary comes from the North American Mint. This series of silver rounds includes eight designs in all that follow each step in the 8-day mission from liftoff in Florida to the surface of the moon and back as the crew splashed back down in the Pacific Ocean. Each of the silver rounds in this collection comes with .999 fine silver content, a limited mintage of 5,000 rounds per design, and has a proof-like finish with frosted designs and mirrored background fields. The rounds are individually housed inside of Air-Tite capsules and come with a unique serial number engraved onto the edge of the round. The designs include:

• Liftoff: First off is the design for Liftoff. With the Saturn V rockets at full blast, the Apollo 11 spacecraft hurtles toward the heavens in this design that includes the date of liftoff engraved around the rim and the phrasing “6,5,4,3,2,1 All Engines Running, Lift Off…We Have a Lift Off.”
• Eagle Landing: Four days after departing Kennedy Space Center, Armstrong and Aldrin descend onto the moon’s surface in the Eagle lander on the obverse of this round. Touching down in a region of the moon known as the Sea of Tranquility, Aldrin and Armstrong report back to Houston “Tranquility Base Here … The Eagle Has Landed.” The date of the moon landing is also featured.
• One Small Step: On the obverse of this design, you’ll see Armstrong descending the steps of the Eagle lander to mark the first time human beings have landed on another celestial body. As he steps onto the moon, Armstrong proclaims “That’s One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind.” The timing of his first steps onto the moon is also engraved on the rim.
• The Crew: This obverse design features left-profile portraits of all three men who participated in the Apollo 11 mission. With an astronaut’s footprint visible on the moon’s surface and the commemorative 50th-anniversary date mark in the design field, the outer rim includes the names of all three men: “Buzz Aldrin,” “Michael Collins,” and “Neil Armstrong.”
• Moment of Silence: During their moonwalk, Aldrin requested a moment of silence as he took in the majesty of his position high above in the cosmos as human eyes looked directly down on Earth from above. Aldrin stands in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, with Earth visible in the distant background field.
• For All Mankind: One of the crowning moments of the Apollo 11 mission is captured in this obverse design as Aldrin and Armstrong plant the American flag on the surface of the moon. As one man plants the flag the other salutes. Though America planted a flag, the men pronounced “Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set foot Upon the Moon…We Came in Peace for All Mankind.”
• Earthbound: Aldrin and Armstrong used the Eagle landers rocket boosters to return from the moon into orbit and rejoined Collins in the command module. The three-man crew jettisoned the Eagle lander and powered up the boosters on the command module to slingshot around the moon and return home to Earth.
• Splash Down: The final obverse design in the series depicts the moments after the landing pod had reentered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Here, the crew is met by a team of US Navy and NASA rescue specialists. The engraving rim includes the longitude and latitude coordinates where the pod splashed down in the ocean.

All of the silver rounds in the North American Mint issue have a shared reverse design. This design is inspired by the Apollo 11 mission patch worn by the astronauts of the crew. It depicts an American bald eagle with its wings spread wide as it touches down on the surface of the moon. The eagle clutches an olive branch in its talons and Earth is visible in the distant background. Engravings include the commemorative date marks of “1969 – 2019,” and the words “50^th Anniversary.” Other markings on this side include the weight, purity, and metal content of the rounds.

Native American Mint Silver Coins

The Native American Mint offers a distinctive, individualized collection of silver coins for sale to mark the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11. The release features two coins for indigenous tribes in the United States and one coin for the Pacific Ocean nation of Niue. All three coins are colorized and feature their own distinctive design elements. Information on these coins includes:

• Jamul Sovereign Nation: The 2019 1 oz Proof Silver Jamul Moon Landing Curved Coin features a domed reverse side with a colorized design depicting planet Earth. There is a black line representing the flight path of Apollo 11 from Merritt Island, Florida, to the Sea of Tranquility on the surface of the moon. The concave obverse includes the image of an American bald eagle landing on the moon.
• Mesa Grande: 2019 1 oz Proof Silver Mesa Grande 50^th Anniversary Moon Landing Coins have a colorized reverse design that includes the moon’s surface in the foreground and the darkness of outer space in the background. A comet streaks across the sky with the beautiful colors of planet Earth in the distant background. The obverse of these coins includes a bald eagle. There is a capsule included in the coin’s design with rough diamonds set within. These diamonds are the same as those rough diamonds created when comets strike the surface of the moon.
• Niue: In the 2019 1 oz Proof Silver Niue Moon Landing 50^th Anniversary Coin release, the mint offers a colorized reverse design that has the brilliant colors of the cosmos in the background and the moon’s surface in the foreground with an American flag fluttering on the moon’s surface. The obverse features Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy in a right-profile portrait. The inset capsule in these coins includes copper taken from the Statue of Liberty during a 1985 renovation that was melted into smaller statues, both of which went into space on the space shuttle Discovery.

All of the Native American Mint Apollo 11 releases have a limited mintage of 5,000 coins. Individual coins are housed in capsules and set within commemorative display boxes. The coins come with a Certificate of Authenticity as well and feature .999 fine silver content.

United States Mint Coin Series

Not to be left out of the celebration, the sovereign mint of the nation which achieved this impressive feat offers its own selection of commemorative Apollo 11 coins. The United States Mint issued five primary coins with a shared obverse and reverse design. The American Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Coins include three silver coins and two gold coins. All of the coins in the US Mint Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary collection are curved coins with a convex reverse field and a concave obverse field.

On the reverse of all coins in the collection is a depiction of the close-up photo taken July 20, 1969, on the surface of the moon. The photo was taken looking directly at the visor of astronaut Buzz Aldrin and captures on its surface the reflection of the Eagle lunar lander, the American flag, Neil Armstrong standing between the two, and the shadow of Aldrin cast across the scene. The helmet and visor of Aldrin serve as a frame of sorts for the entire design field.

The obverse of all American Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Coins includes a concave design field with the singular footprint of an astronaut on the surface of the moon. Included with it are engravings of “Mercury, Gemini, Apollo” separated by depictions of four different phases of the moon.

In the United States Mint Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Collection, all coins are individually encapsulated and shipped with US Mint commemorative display boxes. The coins each feature their own Certificate of Authenticity as well. Details on the five primary coins include:

• 1 oz Uncirculated Silver Dollar: .999 pure silver and a maximum mintage of 400,000 across the product lineup
• 1 oz Proof Silver Dollar: .999 pure silver and a maximum mintage of 400,000 coins across the lineup
• 5 oz Proof Silver Dollar: .999 pure silver with a maximum mintage of 100,000 coins across the product lineup
• Uncirculated Gold Coin: $5 (USD) face value with 8.359 Grams, or .2687 Troy ounces, of actual gold content and a maximum mintage of 50,000 coins
• Proof Gold Coin: $5 (USD) face value with 8.359 Grams, or .2687 Troy ounces, of actual gold content and a shared maximum mintage of 50,000 coins

The United States Mint strikes these Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Coins with mint marks from the production facility. The Philadelphia Mint issues the silver coins with a “P” mint mark while the West Point Mint issues the gold coins with “W” mint mark.

Silver Australian Apollo 11 Coins

Apollo 11 may have been an American triumph of ingenuity and innovation for NASA, but broadcasting the monumental occasion in human history took a collaborative effort. Some 500 million people around the world witnessed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the surface of the moon in July 1969, and the Australians manning the Parkes radio antenna played a vital role in capturing the TV broadcast from the moon and transmitting it around the world.

In honor of the role Australia played in ensuring all of mankind could witness this moment, both the Perth Mint and the Royal Australian Mint issued Apollo 11 coins to mark the 50^th anniversary of the event.

The Perth Mint of Western Australia issued a 2019-dated silver bullion coin with .9999 fine silver content that captured the iconic scenery of mankind’s first landing on the moon. The reverse of these coins included the Eagle lunar lander sitting in the Sea of Tranquility on the lunar surface as the footprint left from one of the astronaut’s suits is visible in the lunar surface in the foreground.

On the obverse of these coins is the Jody Clark sixth-generation Australian effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. This right-profile bust began to roll out on Australian coins in 2019 and is the first since 1966 to include the Queen’s neckline and shoulders in the portrait. This Perth Mint release is limited to a mintage of 50,000 coins in total.

Not to be left behind, the sovereign Royal Australian Mint in Canberra issued its own coin to mark the occasion. The Royal Australian Mint issued two variations on the same design and a 2-coin set in collaboration with the United States Mint to honor the joint-effort in broadcasting the moon landing. The Royal Australian Mint coins include the following:

• 2019 Proof Black Nickel Plated Silver Australian Lunar Landing Domed Coins feature a black-nickel plating over the entire obverse and reverse design fields that mimic the darkness of space. The reverse side features an astronaut on the lunar surface with the Eagle lunar lander just steps away. The dominating image of planet Earth is in the background with a brilliant colorized finish and a geographic focus on the Australian continent. This side is domed and convex to deliver an inspiring sense of the moon’s curvature. The obverse includes the Parkes antenna pointed toward the moon to capture the signal and Queen Elizabeth II’s effigy by Ian Rank-Broadley in the lower field.
• 2019 Proof Silver and Cupro-Nickel Australian Lunar Landing 2-Coin Sets combine the coin from above without black-nickel plating alongside a cupro-nickel US one dollar coin from the US Mint’s own collection of Apollo 11 coins. The US coin in this set is a domed specimen with a convex side for Buzz Aldrin’s visor reflecting the picture of Neil Armstrong, the Eagle lander, and the American flag on the moon’s surface. The concave obverse features an astronaut footprint in the lunar surface.

The Royal Australian Mint’s black-nickel plated silver coin is limited in mintage to 10,000 in total with capsules, presentation boxes, a Certificate of Authenticity, and a colorized shipper with the phrase “One Giant Leap for Mankind” printed on it. The two-coin set also comes in a two-coin display box with a themed shipper and Certificate of Authenticity. The set is limited to 10,000 in total and the COA features the signatures from the heads of the Royal Australian Mint and the United States Mint.

SilverTowne’s Apollo 11 Silver Round

One of America’s premier private mints, SilverTowne offers its own standalone 1 oz silver round commemorating the achievement of NASA with the Apollo 11 mission. The 1 oz SilverTowne Apollo 11 Rounds are available to purchase at Silver.com with an obverse design featuring the Eagle lunar lander after it touched down on the surface of the moon. The design is accompanied by engravings of “1969 NASA 2019” along the top rocker and “.999+ Fine Silver One Troy Ounce” along the bottom rocker.

The reverse side of the SilverTowne Apollo 11 Rounds includes its own take on the Apollo 11 mission patch. Here, an American bald eagle descends onto the surface of the moon with an olive branch clutched between its talons as its wings spread out to soften its landing. With Earth visible in the distance, the lone engraving on this side reads simply “Apollo 11.”

1 oz SilverTowne Apollo 11 Rounds are available in either individual packaging, mint tubes of 20 rounds, or inside of Master Boxes that include a total of 500 silver rounds. Each one has 1 Troy oz of .999 fine silver content.

Celebrate 50 Years Since Apollo 11 with Silver at Silver.com

A half a century ago, the United States of America put two men onto the surface of another celestial body for the first time in human history and proceeded to bring them safely back home to planet Earth. In the 50 years since, no other nation has achieved this marvel. Now is your chance to own a piece of history and purchase one of your own 50^th Anniversary Apollo 11 silver bullion products at Silver.com. Our customer service team is waiting to lend a hand answering your questions. Simply call us at 888-989-7223, chat with us live online, or send us an email with your inquiries.