An Apollo 17 flown Robbins medal has top performed at Heritage's Space Exploration Signature Auction.
The medal sold for $53,775 at the November 2 sale in Dallas, beating its $35,000 high estimate by 53.6%.
 Just 80 Apollo 17 Robbins medals were flown in space |
It once resided in the collection of Jack Lousma, who went into space with Skylab 3 in 1973 and STs-3 in 1983. It featured a letter of authenticity from the astronaut, enhancing its appeal to collectors.
Of the 300 Robbins medals minted for the 1972 expedition, just 80 were actually flown into space, the fewest of any of the Apollo missions.
Such rarity ensures particularly strong demand among collectors.
It is a buoyant time for medals from the mission - the last of the Moon landings.
Another of the 80 sold for $58,546 in May, while the November 2 sale also featured an example from the collection of Skylab 4 astronaut William Pogue, which sold for $47,800.
Bidders will have a further chance to own one of the great Apollo 17 rarities on November 29 at a US auction.
An Apollo 11 flown example, one of 450 such specimens, sold for $35,850. The record for an Apollo 11 Robbins medal stands at $39,382, set last year.
 A sheet of stamps featuring a Neil Armstrong autograph trebled its estimate |
The sale also featured a Neil Armstrong autograph beneath a sheet of First Man on the Moon stamps, which achieved $38,837, trebling its $12,000 estimate.
The recent death of Armstrong has seen his signature soar in value, with signed photos having risen by 26.05% between 2011 and 2012, according to the PFC40 Autograph Index.
View our Neil Armstrong stock here.
