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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 "3." Following the mission, this was one of 22 examples converted by the Robbins Company into 'Wives' Pins,' featuring a diamond inset at the approximate landing site and a pinback mechanism added to the reverse. Condition is in mint state, with uniform tarnishing.
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 a friend by Conrad's wife, Jane (née DuBose), and is accompanied by two handwritten letters of provenance signed by her. One, in part: "This Apollo XII silver pin is one…carried to the moon by 'Pete' Charles Conrad Jr. in his personal preference kit…It is made from silver recovered from a Spanish galleon sunk in the Atlantic near Florida."
