Thought Lost and Finally Found - My Grandfather's Apollo 8 - Coin

[Buzzetta]

It was the greatest generation and everyone did their part. My Mom's dad fought in Europe and my Dad's dad worked in Grumman and later the Space Program. I recently found something that I thought lost from my Dad's dad and figured I would present it here.

 

If anyone knows me, it is from the Comic forums. Recently while going through boxes for a sales thread I want to put together, I came across something that I had misplaced. Certain things in the family have been entrusted to me for safekeeping. This was one of them.

 

During WWII, my paternal grandfather worked for Grumman as a project manager in producing airplanes and other things for the war effort. After WWII and the Cold War was in effect, Grumman transitioned to working on projects for the military and then eventually the space program. We knew this and as kids marveled at some of the documents that he had saved from this time period. He was not particularly close with his grandchildren so I know most of the information from the stories that my Dad has told me and the documents that have been left behind when he died in 2001.

 

One of the artifacts that he had from the projects that he worked on was from Apollo 8. I remember as a younger child looking at the colorful NASA label and the critical sign and wondering really what it was never truly appreciating it. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to orbit the moon and return safely to Earth. A piece of aluminum was brought on board with the mission and upon its return to earth, was melted down and incorporated into the metals that were used to create this coin. From what I understand, project managers were given commemorative coins and a certificate of appreciation for their efforts in making the mission a successful one.

 

As with many people that came out of "The Greatest Generation", extravagance was not something that was part of their lives. This was the group of men and women that weathered a depression and a war and knew how to make due during simpler times. The frame here is a bit old and falling apart but the coin is untouched since it went into the frame what is probably well over forty years ago. I plan on reframing and refitting it myself to give to my dad this Christmas. Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

 

 

 

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[Buzzetta]

Some additional pics...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Doc Joe]

outstanding

 

[Hibou]

That is a fantastic piece of history and if you were to take that to any frame shop / gallery, they would be able to reassemble it using archival materials which would certainly benefit the piece. I think a nice double mat would look great on that however I'm guessing the coin is being held in place being pressed up against the glass.

 

Is there any design or motif on the reverse? Maybe they could come up with a nice way to fix it in place.

 

I think it's a great idea to give that back to your father as a gift!

[Hibou]

Actually, looking at the closeup of the coin... it appears that the coin had some type of adhesive tape adhered to the reverse.

[Timely]

I have a similar coin that was passed down to me from my grandmother. She was a secretary at a company that had a NASA contract. I still have the letter & envelope too.

[Brandon Shepherd]

That's a great story, well done!

[Buzzetta]

Thanks!

[meshuggah]

Thats awesome

[lscomics]

I'm curious, is the letter actually signed by Borman? Either way it's a very cool piece.

[SW3D]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

SW3D

[Buzzetta]

I'm curious, is the letter actually signed by Borman? Either way it's a very cool piece.

 

I don't know. I appears to be a facsimile signature but I will not know for sure until I am ready to reframe it. I will probably take it around next week. I found a few other things that I do not know if I can post such as security and clearance ID cards from the program.

 

I will update this once the project is undertaken. I think I would want to figure out how to mount and frame it by myself as if anything were to happen and this was lost I think he would have my head.

[lscomics]

I would think the security clearance and ID cards would be fine to post as long as they're expired. I'm sure the ones they use now are completely different from what they would have been using then.

[Mayor006]

You can take the measurements of the coin and the certificate to a framing shop like Hobby Lobby or Michaels and never have to actually take the items into the store until the frame is ready. My suggestion would be to get a coin holder for the coin (if you can find a coin shop somewhere), make sure it fits and then take the coin holder to them. Most places don't want the items until the frame is ready for insurance reasons anyway.

[lscomics]

My suggestion would be to get a coin holder for the coin (if you can find a coin shop somewhere), make sure it fits and then take the coin holder to them.

I know that once upon a time the Hobby Lobby where I am carried a small selection of coin collecting supplies including individual coin holders. Couldn't hurt to look there.