28 March 2019
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Pobjoy Mint has revealed details of a new coin featuring a replica of the surface of the moon, which also features the Nasa 'meatball' logo and an Apollo 11 crew patch.
The coin has been released to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landings this summer, after Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface on 20 July 1969, with Neil Armstrong uttering the historic words 'the Eagle has landed'.
Ascension Island and the Apollo 11 Mission
With its direct link to the Apollo 11 Mission, it is particularly apt that this coin is being released on
behalf of the Government of Ascension Island. Devil’s Ashpit on the eastern side of Ascension Island
made a perfect site to build a NASA tracking station. With volcanic peaks surrounding the site it
provided a natural shield against radar and other interference from elsewhere on the island.
Originally constructed in 1965 to support the earlier Surveyor missions, it also supported the later
deep space and Apollo manned missions and tracked Apollo 11 on its flight from the Earth to the
Moon.
Ascension Island First Man on the Moon coin details
The high relief and domed coin replicates the surface of the moon with its rough terrain and craters rising from the surface. The coin also includes the famous footprint left on the moon’s surface along with the flag of the United States of America.
Pobjoy Mint was given special permission by NASA to include the ‘meatball’ logo and the Apollo 11
Crew Patch. The obverse of the coin features the exclusive Pobjoy Mint effigy of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II. The coin is available in 1oz Fine Silver Piedfort (2oz in total weight).
Issue date: 27 March 2019
Diameter: 38.60mm
Weight: 62.21g
To order, visit Pobjoy Mint.
QUICK LINK: A history of the 50p coin
