The Heritage Auctions in Dallas is holding a public auction of rare space memorabilia that includes astronaut Neil Armstrong’s personally-owned gold medal that was flown to the moon with him on the historic Apollo 11 mission.
The gold medal sold for $2,055,000 million on Tuesday.
It was the first day of a three-day auction which includes Part III of The Armstrong Family Collection™.
Other items that sold included the largest American flag flown abroad Apollo 11 that sold from $137,500 and a 4-inch by 6-inch silk American flag flown to the moon sold for $65,625.
Other treasures Armstrong took with him to the moon included bidding $143,750 for a 1-1/4-inch swath of muslin cloth from the left wing of the Wright Brothers' 1903 Flyer and a section of the flyer’s propeller ended at $150,000, the press release said.
A personal copy of NASA's “Preliminary Apollo 11 Flight Plan,” dated April 24, 1969, and featuring a 134-page timeline of crew activities, planned minute by minute for a successful mission, sold for $112,500.
Armstrong's personally owned and worn early Apollo-era flight suit ended at $81,250.
There's also something else special that was on the bidding block: an internal NASA memo on whether to coach Armstrong on what to say during his descent.
The auction continues Wednesday and Thursday, July 17-18, with real-time bidding available on HA.com/Armstrong.