50 Dollars First Man in Space

The Marshall Islands began issuing commemorative coinage in 1986 following the Compact of Free Association with the United States, which granted the republic self-governance while leaving defense responsibilities to Washington. This piece commemorates Yuri Gagarin's April 12, 1961 flight aboard Vostok 1 — 108 minutes in orbit that the Soviet government had kept secret until the capsule was safely down.

KM#25 is part of a space exploration series that ran through the late 1980s and early 1990s, struck by the U.S. Mint on contract.