Commems Collection Modern: What If? 1973 Apollo Lunar Landing

I've previously posted about several attempts to secure a commemorative coin for the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing. You can read the posts via these links:

- What If? 1969 Apollo 11 - Part I
- What If? 1969 Apollo 11 - Part II
- What If? 1970 Moon Landing And National Air And Space Museum
- What If? 1971 Apollo 11 / Lunar Landing Trust Fund

But I could sense that four posts weren't quite enough , so here's one more...

In the First Session of the 93rd Congress, Olin E. Teague (D-TX) was back with another Apollo 11 bill; he introduced the new bill in February 1973. The coin bill was immediately referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency.

As with his 1971 bill (linked above), Teague's new bill specified that the coin's obverse was to depict "an official Apollo 11 emblem" and its reverse was to feature the inscription "WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND". The quote is part of a longer one included on a plaque left on the moon by the Apollo 11 "Landing Crew" astronauts (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin). (See the plaque image below for the full quote.)

Apollo 11 Mission Patch Emblem


Apollo 11 Moon Plaque - Replica

(Image Source: Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum. Fair Use.)

As with his previous bill, Teague's 1973 bill called for the striking of up to 50 million half dollars (!), with net proceeds from the sale of the coins going to the "Apollo Lunar Landing Trust Fund" (established by the bill) to cover costs "of the United States hereafter incurred which are attributable to the continued development, construction, maintenance, operation of the space information and education center at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and other space information and education purposes." A worthy use of such funds, IMO.

An interesting aspect of the bill - one it shared with Teague's 1971 coin proposal - was its provision for each of the coins to include a "fractional content of an appropriate metal derived from the Apollo 11 spacecraft" - a "relic" coin! Considering the relatively small size of the Apollo 11 capsule/spacecraft that returned to Earth, there would not have been much metal available for use in striking 50 million coins! Even if a few small pieces of metal had been brought back from the lunar module for "relic" souvenir purposes, the amount of metal available to add to the coin's metallic alloy would have made the amount contained by each coin a minuscule fraction at best. (See What If? 2008 NASA 50th Anniversary - 108th Congress for a related relic coin discussion.)

The bill also established a five-person Apollo Lunar Landing Commemorative Commission ("Commission"). The Commission was to be responsible for the coin's design and subsequent distribution. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") Administrator was to chair the Commission.

The bill was not reported out of Committee, nor considered under a suspension of the rules by the House. As a result, it died for lack of action and no Apollo 11 commemorative coin was produced (until 2019 and the 50th Anniversary!).


For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.