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50 Dollars First Manned Orbit of the Moon
| Issuer | Republic of the Marshall Islands |
|---|---|
| Year | 1989 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field features a detailed relief depiction of the Apollo 8 Command and Service Module spacecraft in lunar orbit, rendered in three-quarter view with the heavily cratered lunar surface occupying the lower and central portions of the field. The Earth is visible as a small orb in the upper right background, surrounded by scattered stars against a polished field. The denomination 50 FIFTY DOLLARS appears to the right in the field. The commemorative legend FIRST MANNED ORBIT OF THE MOON - 1968 arcs along the upper periphery. |
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| Additional information |
Issued in 1989 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Apollo 11, this Marshall Islands commemorative arrived at a peculiar moment — NASA was still grounding its shuttle fleet following the 1986 Challenger disaster, and American spaceflight's future was genuinely uncertain. The Republic of the Marshall Islands, which gained sovereignty under the Compact of Free Association with the United States only in 1986, leaned heavily into its political relationship with Washington through a sustained commemorative coin program in these early years.
KM#31 is one of the earlier entries in that program. The series grew so prolific through the 1990s that collector fatigue set in quickly, suppressing secondary market premiums across most issues.