Space Flown Signed Two Dollar Bill Mercury Atlas Six Friendship Seven John Glenn

Description

Extremely Rare, Authentic, One of Only 15 Known in Existence
Historical Mercury- Atlas 6 (Friendship 7) Space Flown 1953 Series Bill w/ Original Certificate of Authenticity
Signed By Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. , M. Scott Carpenter & 22 Additional Members Of Launch Crew.
Framed , Matted & Under Glass.
About the Provenance
Purchased from local antique store in North Carolina. It is authenticated by the period signatures on the bill. The original signed flight certification document, and it matches by serial number to the official investigation listing of bills flown on Mercury-Atlas 6. (See the list of matching serial numbers in the provided additional images).
About the Bill
This 1953 Series A bill, serial number A42817965A, is hand signed by Lt. Col. John Glenn, his backup pilot, mission capsule communicator and fellow Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter and Guenter Wendt, p
ad leader & h
ead of the Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 Launch Crew. Wendt was the one
who placed the bill in the capsule and was the last person to see the crew before the capsule was sealed for launching. The bill also bears the signatures of 21 additional crew members and is further flight certified on an ornate, printed document, also hand signed by Glenn and Carpenter, and stating that it was flown on the mission. This bill, along with other and bills – totally 52 bills in all – became subject of a congressional investigation after the discovery of their flight. Ground crew members snuck the bills on board by rolling them into tube shapes, and taping them around wiring within the capsule. Congress was concerned that the bills, part of a tradition started with Alan Shepard’s flight, would interfere with flight operations and cause a danger. One senator called their flight a “foolish business.” When Glenn testified in front of the House Space Committee, he claimed at the time to only know of one bill to have flown, wrapped in a wire bundle behind the control panel. But a NASA spokesperson is later quoted as reporting that some 200 bills (mostly bills) were hidden aboard Glenn’s spacecraft by launch crew personnel. Further research at the John Glenn Achives, however, has turned up a memo dated March 9, 1962, written by Charles L. Buckley, Jr., of the NASA Security Office. According to Mr. Buckley's memo, "approximately to or a total of 52 bills of one and two dollar denominations were place aboard the capsule by a McDonnell Aircraft employee..." So the universe of flown bills from this mission are extremely limited to just 52 bills.
According to Same Beddingfield, Kennedy Space Center employee number 4, and the engineer responsible for the weight and balance of the Friendship 7 capsule, this was the first flight in US manned spaceflight history to carry a bill, and the majority of bills flown were of the variety on this flight. According to Beddingfield, Shepard carried only a very small number of bills on his flight. Gus Grissom also carried a small number of bills on his flight (along with his famous dimes), but those bills were lost at sea when the spacecraft sank. Several damaged bills were recovered when the capsule was found, and those bills reside at the Kansas Cosmosphere.
Based on the serial numbers of the bills flown on Glenn’s flight as published in Russ Still’s Relics of the Space Race, no more than 15 were of the two dollar denomination. Because of the investigation, no other bills were known to have flown on the remaining Mercury flights as “contraband” ground crew items.
This particular bill is one of no more than fifteen of the original bills that were flown on the Mercury-Atlas Six, Friendship Seven space mission. There were
a total of 52 documented
bills, (37) Bills and (15) Bills,
that were
flown
aboard the
Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 capsule piloted by Lt. Col. John H. Glenn
on February 20, 1962,
the first manned orbital flight in history.
This particular
bill is 2-1/2 times more rare than the more common
bills. Another one of the bills that has surfaced & known to still exist, other than this one, is on display at the Jefferson Space Museum.
Items Included
:
Authentic & Extremely Rare 1953 Series, Space Flown [Multiple Signatures] Bill
Original Decorative Printed, Flight Certified NASA Certificate of Authenticity
Printed Copy of the Affirmed List of serial numbers of all bills that were flown upon the Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 capsule
Signed Bill & Original COA Are Matted, Framed & Under Non-glare Glass.
The items described herein are extremely rare pieces of American Space History. The space flown 1953 series bill and Original Decorative Flight
Certified
NASA Certificate of Authenticity come framed, matted & are under non-glare glass as shown in the provided images. Both items are in very
good condition.
The NASA, COA (Certificate of Authenticity) is Original; is dated February 20, 1962; bears the matching serial number to the Bill
it is accompanied by and both
the COA & Bill are [Signed ] by
Lt. Col. John H.
Glenn, Jr.
&
M. S
cott Carpenter
. The Bill itself has
22 additional original
signatures
from various other members of the NASA launch crew.
This bill is (1) of no more than (15) original bills that were flown aboard the historic First Manned Orbital Flight of the Mercury 6,
Friendship 7
by Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr. on February 20, 1962. It, along with a few other bills, are some of the earliest known currency
to ever fly into space.
This is one of the More Rare Bills,
NOT
one of the more common Bills.
This bill accompanied John Glenn aboard the Mercury- Atlas 6, Friendship 7 flight and made 3 full orbits, making him the first American to
orbit the
Earth and
spent a 4 hours and 56 minutes in orbit, before splashing down in the Atlantic. The Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 capsule flew over 75,00
miles while reaching
a maximum speed of over 17,500 miles per hour!
The
bill
, serial number
A42817965A
, is attached to the
Original Decoratively Printed, F
light Certified
NASA COA (Certificate of Authenticity)
,
bearing the
matching serial number and the following text: "This Certifies the following U.S. currency Serial NO. A42817965A
accompanied Lt. Col.
John H. Glenn
on the
first manned orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 Feb. 20, 1962" [Signed] JH
Glenn, Jr. [Signed] M. Scott Carpenter. The serial
number is authenticated on the
attached list of affirmed serial numbers of all bills that were flown upon the Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 capsule by
Lt. Col. John H. Glenn
on February 20,1962.
A printed copy of the affirmed list is included in the sale of this item.
This rare bill is hand signed by
Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr.
, his backup pilot and fellow Mercury Astronaut
Scott Carpenter
,
Guenter F. Wendt
(
Head of the Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 Pad Crew / Launch Pad Leader.)
Pete T
hompson
, (Launch Pad Crew Member who made note on this
particular bill claiming it as his own),
Bill Mosley
(McDonnell capsule system test conductor),
along with
19 Additional Signatures
of various members
of NASA's launch pad & capsule crew of the Mercury-Atlas 6, Friendship 7 mission.
The serial number for the Bill & Flight Certified NASA Certificate of Authentication offered in this listing match the serial numbers for all flown bills
upon the Friendship 7.
The Bill & COA offered are extremely
MORE RARE
than the space flown Bills
and bear an incredible 24 total original signatures, most of which
have been identified below.
Signature Identifications
Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr.
Astronaut /
Pilot of First Manned Orbital Flight of the Mercury 6,  Friendship 7 Capsule
Scott Carpenter
Backup Pilot and Fellow Mercury Astronaut
of First Manned Orbital Flight of the Mercury 6,
Friendship 7 Capsule
Guenter F. Wendt
Head of the Mercury 6, Friendship 7 Pad Crew / Launch Pad Leader. Worked for McDonnell Aircraft -
Died May 3, 2012.
Wendt was
a recipient of NASA's Letter of Appreciation Award, The Silver Snoopy Award and several group Achievement Awards. He received a NASA
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. He was a
native of Berlin,
Germany, Wendt studied mechanical engineering and then fought for Nazi Germany during World War II, serving as a flight engineer aboard Luftwaffe night fighters.
Bill Mosley
McDonnell Capsule System Test Conductor
J.A. Jones
– Jack A. Jones
Detailee from Jefferson Space Center. Worked in Engineering and
Operations Building
C.E. Beatty
Member of Pad / Launch Crew
Cal Moser
,
C.T. Moser
Member of Pad / Launch Crew -
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft
– CCAFS
Jack Turnbul
l
Member of Pad / Launch Crew -
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft
– CCAFS
Jim
Vlahakes
Member of Pad / Launch Crew -
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft
Don Kieffer
-
Donald P. Kirffer
Member of Pad Crew
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft
R. Oglesby
-
Raymong M. Oglesby
Member of Pad Crew
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft – CCAFS
J. Janokaitis
-
John Janokaitis Jr.
Worked for NASA
– CCAFS
Pete Thompson
Member of Pad Crew - Bill is Signed By Pete Thompson & Has "Belongs to Pete Thompson" on the Left Edge of Bill
Claiming
it as His Own.
Jim Wilson
-
James M.
Wilson
NASA Personnel Who Participated in Project Mercury
B. H. Roberts
-
Benjamin H.
Roberts
NASA Personnel Who Participated in Project Mercury
E. R. Rogers
-
Ernest R.
Rogers
NASA Personnel Who Participated in Project Mercury
John H.
Dickinson
NASA Personnel Who Participated in Project Mercury
Official List of Serial Numbers
Signatures:
S.J. Bettingfield - Sam Bettingfield
Worked for NASA – CCAFS
H. H. Luetjen - H. H. "Luge" Luetjen
Worked for McDonnell Aircraft
NOTE: 0 Posted Shipping Fee Includes Cost of Liability Insurance Against Loss or Damage Incurred While In Transit.