How about the Mint produce a coin showing ArtemisII heading to the moon?
SanctionII
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Just saw video of the launch of ArtiemisII.
Very cool and impressive IMO.
I was 12 in December 1968 when Apollo 8 journeyed to the moon and back; I was 13 in July, 1969 when Apollo 11's astronauts first set foot on the moon; and I was 16 in late 1972 when Apollo 17's astronauts last set foot on the moon.
Back then, little did I know that it would be another 53+ years before humans took another flight to the moon.
Glad it finally happened and my best wishes to the crew for a safe trip and return home.
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Certainly a memorable event. The US has quite a few space-themed coins. I wonder if anyone has put together a “space set”. Here’s the 2025 Florida Innovation dollar reverse, depicting a Space Shuttle launch. Which ones do other folks like?
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I’m a huge space nerd and I second this.
My ex Father in law was a flight engineer during Apollo (he was the EMU controller during Apollo 11’s moon walk), and I was at the cape to witness Columbia’s last flight with him at the invitation of astronaut David Brown whom we lost on that flight.
I miss the pride we as a nation had for our space program.
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Indeed. While I wasn’t around yet during the original Space Race, I attended my first launch in 2024 at Kennedy Space Center and watched two astronauts blast off the planet (these ended up being the two that got stuck at the ISS and had to be picked up by SpaceX—an embarrassing affair for Boeing and NASA). The experience was awe-inspiring in a way that is impossible to describe. For anyone that has not seen a launch in their lifetime, I highly recommend doing so.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
In 1970 when I was 14 I visited Kennedy Space Center (aka Cape Canaveral).
I saw the VAB (over 129,000,000 cubic feet of interior space, the largest building in the world; that has doors so tall that the Statue Of Liberty can pass through them; and whose interior is so big that it creates its own weather system); the Saturn 5 rocket; the launch pad from which the Apollo lunar missions started; and I saw the big machine on which the Saturn 5 rocket was placed in the VAB and thereafter transported to the launch pad (each segment of the tank treads on that machine were as big as a bus!!!!).
Talk about amazing and impressive.
This one also...⇊
Seeing that launch from the Cape live was, besides the birth of my children, the most impressive and visceral experience I’ve ever had. It’s hard to explain.
I’ve also had the privilege of meeting several Apollo astronauts, and those men are just as impressive as the machines they rode.
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Don't forget this one.
Space is incredibly fascinating to me. I enjoy stargazing and watching meteor showers when I get the chance, or observing the moons of Jupiter through my telescope. I followed the New Horizons space probe on its flight to Pluto and watched the livestream of the Curiosity rover arriving on Mars in 2012. The Transit of Venus in that year is one of the top events in my life.
Just going to add the 2019 Native American Dollar which celebrated their contributions to the space program.
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There are far more commemorative coins, medals, etc for Apollo 11 than there are for Apollos 8, 9 or 10. The reason is obvious: Apollo 11 actually landed, the others didn't.
Likewise, I suspect that Artemis IV - the actual planned lunar landing scheduled for 2028 - will be more commemorated than Artemis II or Artemis III. And there probably won't be any official commemoratives of that event actually released until after the landing succeeds.
For Artemis II coins, maybe the Canadians will issue a coin for "one of their own" being on the crew, the first Canadian making it around the moon? The RCM seems to be quicker off the mark than the US when it comes to issuing commemorative coins.
Or, if you must have a spaceship coin right now, Canada has just issued a circulating commemorative $2 coin for the 50th anniversary of the CN Tower in Toronto. If you squint, the CN Tower looks kind of like a rocket ship...
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I'm guessing SkyMan would agree.
Ran a preliminary through ChatGPT..........
Certainly worth a medal, if not a coin. I remember Apollo 11 vividly, A great boost of national pride at a time when we needed it.
And don't forget this one...
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Alabama also has a very cool launch reverse, showing Saturn V:
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
This is all exciting for me.
A coin or even a medal is called for IMHO.
I was one of the judges for the essay contest to pick the name for this mission.
Artemis was not one of the names in the two batches of essays I judged.
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Heh, small world. My FIL also worked on that mission [on loan from Boeing]. Recently came across this book while going through his things.
Perhaps they're waiting until after Artemis IV actually lands. If a coin, Congress has to actually order it done. If a medal, the Mint can do as they please.
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We are in a new space race to the Moon with China - should be interesting. I would think a commem could be issued shortly after Artemis IV successfully lands and returns, and Congress could approve it in advance contingent on such success.
That wb fantastic.
Yes, Canada cares more about the space program than the US does apparently.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/the-royal-canadian-mint-launches-new-collector-coin-to-celebrate-first-canadian-to-fly-around-the-moon-in-artemis-ii/
Great idea, but with what the Mint has on its plate and cannot seem to even keep up with this year, and no design even started, it seems highly unlikely. One thought is that the Mint should consider planning for the future farther in advance than a few months. No private company would even consider such last minute seat of the pants "planning."
Probably should wait for a successful completion of the mission before designing a coin.
I have heard that the Armed Forces Silver Medal Program will have a Space Force coin this year. I might be wrong but that is what I’m hearing.
What else are they going to celebrate? Shooting down Baron von Richthofen?
The Medal was put on the back-burner during the Gibson Administration.
Inferring how much Canada cares about something by it being included int the vast quantity of product the RCM puts out is a bit of a stretch.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Hopefully Canada will return the favor, and invite an American Astronaut to join the Canadian Moon-crew when they do a Lunar fly-by.
Exactly. The RCM cranks out as much NCLT fringe product as the various island nations do (i.e. Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Palau, Isle of Man, etc.)
Seems to me that the US picked up a Canadian hitch hiker for this ride. I am OK with that but suggesting that Canada cares more about the space program that we do based on coinage/medals is way over the top.
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I always liked this state quarter design:
The reverse commemorates the state of Ohio’s history in aviation (Wright brothers) & space exploration (astronauts John Glenn & Neil Armstrong).
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Here are a couple commemorative medals from the Medallic Art Company. Silver each almost 5oz.
My coolest ‘pre-astronaut’ story is that when I was flight instructing to help pay for college, I had an F-111 pilot from Cannon AFB in Clovis, NM, come to our little airport in Portales, NM, to get his Commercial/Instrument civilian tickets. So I flew with him a few times and signed him off. He went on to fly as the commander on four Space Shuttle missions. 😉
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