50 Dollars First Space Station Crew

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 the U.S. retained defense authority. This piece marks the crew of Salyut 7's final long-duration mission — not, as the title might imply, the first crew ever to inhabit a space station, which was Salyut 1 in 1971. The phrasing likely references the first American crew aboard a permanent station, anticipating Freedom, which was never built as designed.

The Marshall Islands Mint had no domestic striking facility; these were produced by contract manufacturers and sold directly to collectors, with essentially no circulation history.