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Flown Apollo 12 Robbins medal struck from silver recovered from the wreck of the 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet, measuring approximately 1.25″ in diameter, with a raised design of the Apollo 12 mission insignia on the face—a 'Yankee Clipper' ship sailing over the moon's 'Ocean of Storms,' the location of the Apollo 12 landing site. The reverse is engraved with the launch date of November 14, 1969; moon landing date of November 19, 1969; and return date of November 24, 1969. The medallion is serial numbered "15." Condition is in mint state, with some surface tarnishing. Includes its original case, with typical deteriorating foam.
For the Apollo 12 Robbins medals, Commander Charles 'Pete' Conrad had acquired a silver ingot from the famed ‘Spanish Plate Fleet’ shipwreck of 1715 and sent it to Robbins to be used in the production of their medallions. Although Robbins produced 262 Apollo 12 medallions, only the first 82 were struck from the Spanish silver; the remaining 180 were made with sterling silver. In addition to having serial numbers between “1” and “82,” the medals struck from this silver do not bear Robbins' typical ‘sterling’ mark as they are purer. These medallions are thus very rare and immensely desirable as they symbolize the human journey to new worlds, connecting the exploration of sea and space.
This example was presented to Stanhope Browne, the cousin of Conrad's wife, Jane (née DuBose). Accompanied by a handwritten letter by Jane, in part: "Pete has a momento that he took to the moon and back that he wants to give you. He had 25 medallions depicting the Apollo XII emblem made from a bar of silver recovered from a sunken Spanish galleon (how the heck do you spell?) that dates back to the 17th century. He has a great friend in Florida who has a license or lease on one of the galleons to recover its treasure, and he gave Pete the piece of silver." Additionally accompanied by a notarized affidavit signed by Stanhope Browne, attesting to the provenance of the medallion.
