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50 Dollars First American in Earth Orbit
| Issuer | Republic of the Marshall Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1989 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A Mercury space capsule is depicted in high relief in the upper portion of the field, shown in three-quarter view against a starfield with several individual stars visible. Beneath the capsule, a detailed flat map projection of the Earth's continents is rendered across the lower field, with orbital trajectory lines arcing across the globe to suggest the path of the spacecraft. A star device appears to the lower left. The denomination 50 FIFTY DOLLARS is inscribed to the right of center. The curved legend FIRST AMERICAN IN EARTH ORBIT - 1962 arcs along the upper periphery. |
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| Reverse lettering | FIRST AMERICAN IN EARTH ORBIT-1962 50 FIFTY DOLLARS |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark John Glenn's February 1962 Friendship 7 mission, this coin arrived nearly three decades after the event it commemorates — part of a broader Marshall Islands commemorative program launched in 1986 following the nation's independence from U.S. trusteeship. The Republic leaned heavily on American historical themes in its early numismatic output, a deliberate strategy to attract U.S. collectors rather than serve any domestic monetary function.
Glenn's four-hour, 55-minute flight required NASA engineers to override an automated abort due to a faulty sensor warning about the heat shield — a detail the agency withheld from Glenn himself until after splashdown.