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20 Dollars Mission Mercury 3
| Issuer | Liberia |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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| Currency | Dollar (1943-date) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A detailed bust of astronaut Alan Shepard in full pressure suit and helmet faces left, occupying the right portion of the field. To the left stands a finely detailed rendering of the Redstone rocket used for the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission. The legend 'SHEPARD - MISSION MERCURY 3' arcs along the upper periphery in sans-serif lettering. The denomination '$20' is inscribed along the lower field beneath the bust. The portrait and rocket are rendered in high relief against a polished mirror field, consistent with proof striking. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 flight on May 5, 1961, lasted just 15 minutes and 22 seconds, but it was enough to make him the first American in space and deflect some of the political damage from the Soviet Union's Gagarin flight three weeks earlier. The Kennedy administration needed the optics badly. Shepard reached an altitude of 187 kilometers on a suborbital trajectory — nowhere near orbit, a fact the Soviets were quick to publicize — but the successful recovery from the Atlantic gave NASA a credibility it had been hemorrhaging since Sputnik.
Liberia has issued commemorative silver in this format prolifically since the 1990s, typically licensing space and Americana themes for collector export rather than domestic circulation.