GABONESE REPUBLIC
COMMEMORATING THE APOLLO XI MISSION
20,000 GOLD FRANCS
CERTIFIED BY NGC PROOF 64 ULTRA CAMEO
OBV: HEAD OF PRESIDENT BONGO LEFT; TRADITIONAL ORNAMENT FLANKING RIGHT AND DATE IN LEGEND LOWER RIGHT.
REV: SATURN V ROCKET BLASTING OFF FROM LAUNCH PAD CENTER WITH MOON UPPER RIGHT; FLANKING TRADITIONAL ORNAMENT ALONG EDGE AT RIGHT AND LEFT; SMALL NATIONAL ARMS WITH SUPPORTERS FLANKED BY FOUR-POINTED STARS AT TOP, DENOMINATION BELOW.
KM # 10
APOLLO XI WAS LAUNCHED JULY 16, 1969. AS MILLIONS WATCH THE SPACEFLIGHT ON TELEVISION, A SATURN V ROCKET ASCENDED FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN FLORIDA AT 9:32 EST THAT MORNING. THE CRAFT ENTERED EARTH ORBIT 12 MINUTES LATER, AND AFTER 1 ½ ORBITS, ITS THIRD STAGE ENGINE PUSHED THE SPACECRAFT INTO TRAJECTORY TOWARD THE MOON.
THIRTY MINUTES AFTER THAT, THE COMMAND/SERVICE MODULE SEPARATED FROM THE REMAINING SATURN V STAGE SECTION AND DOCKED WITH THE LUNAR MODULE, THEN THE COMBINED LUNAR CRAFT HEADED TOWARD ITS DESTINATION.
IT ENTERED LUNAR ORBIT JULY 19th. ON JULY 20th, EAGLE, THE LUNAR MODULE, SEPARATED FROM COLUMBIA, THE COMMAND MODULE. WITH 25 MINUTES OF FUEL LEFT. EAGLE LANDED IN A 980’ DIAMETER CRATER IN THE AREA KNOWN AS THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY, AT 8:18 PM (COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME), JULY 20th, 1969.
ON JULY 21, AT 2:39 PM UTC, MISSION COMMANDER NEIL A. ARMSTRONG SQUEEZED THROUGH THE HATCH WITH SOME DIFFICULTY CARRYING HIS PORTABLE LIFE SUPPORT UNIT, AND STARTED TO MAKE HIS DESCENT DOWN THE LADDER OF THE MODULE TO THE LUNAR SURFACE. AT 2:56 PM UTC, HE PLACED HIS LEFT FOOT ON THE SURFACE, THE FIRST HUMAN BEING TO STAND ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON. SIX AND A HALF HOURS AFTER LANDING, AND AFTER DESCRIBING THE SURFACE AS “VERY FINE-GRAINED” AND “ALMOST LIKE POWDER”, ARMSTRONG UTTERED HIS IMMORTAL WORDS, “THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR [A] MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.”
ABOUT 19 MINUTES LATER, LUNAR MODULE PILOT EUGENE E. “BUZZ” ALDRIN JR., JOINED ARMSTRONG ON THE SURFACE. AFTER PERFORMING SOME EXPERIMENTS, COLLECTING SAMPLES, PLANTING A SPECIAL UNITED STATES FLAG, PERFORMING OTHER SURFACE ACTIVITIES, AND TAKING A PHONE CALL FROM PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON, BOTH MEN RETURNED TO THE MODULE. AFTER OVER 21 ½ HOURS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE, AT 17:54 UTC, THE MODULE ASCENDED INTO LUNAR ORBIT TO REJOIN WITH COLUMBIA, PILOTED BY MICHAEL COLLINS.
ON JULY 21, AT 12:51 PM (HAST), THE COMMAND MODULE CAPSULE, BEARING THE THREE COURAGEOUS AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS, SPLASHED DOWN IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, ENDING THE MONUMENTAL JOURNEY THAT IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY.
THE SATURN V ROCKET DEPICTED ON THE REVERSE WAS A HUMAN-RATED EXPENDABLE ROCKET 3 STAGE LIQUID FUELED LAUNCH VEHICLE USED IN THE APOLLO MISSIONS AND TO LAUNCH SKYLAB.
THE OBVERSE DEPICTS THE BUST OF ALBERT-BERNARD BONGO, SECOND AUTOCRATIC PRESIDENT OF GABON. HE CHANGED HIS NAME TO EL HAJJ OMAR BONGO AT HIS CONVERSION TO ISLAM IN 1973, AND ADDED HIS FATHER'S NAME, ONDIMBA, TO THE END IN 2003. HE RULED FROM 1967 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 2009. HE RULED LONGER THAN ANY OTHER AFRICAN LEADER, AND IS ONE OF THE LONGEST SERVING HEADS OF STATE IN THE WORLD, HAVING RULED FOR 42 YEARS. HE WAS KNOWN AS BEING ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT AFRICAN RULERS, BUT WAS ALSO KNOWN AS A PEACEMAKER FOR HIS EFFORTS IN TRYING TO END CONFLICTS BETWEEN WARRING FACTIONS IN OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES.
CONTAINS 70 GRAMS OF 900 FINE GOLD
2.0254 OZ AGW
52 MM IN DIAMETER
PARIS MINT
4,000 MINTED!
