Avid space memorabilia collector Howard Weinberger is still the proud owner of Buzz Aldrin's Gold Robbins medallion.
Weinberger, who said he bought the medallion from Aldrin within the past two years, tried to auction off it on eBay. But when the auction closed Thursday night, the top bid of $35,100 wasn't high enough to meet the reserve price he had set before the auction began. The reserve price is not public information, but Weinberger said it was under $100,000.
During the 10 day auction, 40 people bid on the medallion, a gold coin embossed with an eagle landing on the surface of the moon on the front and information about the Apollo 11 mission on the back. Gold medallions were made by The Robbins Company for each astronaut in in the Apollo program, beginning with the Apollo 7 mission.
While the auction was still open, Weinberger told space.com that the auction would serve its purpose of disseminating information about the medallions whether or not the medallion was sold.
Weinberger had planned to donate a percentage of the proceeds to the U.S. Space Camp if the medallion had been sold.
Earlier in the month, another collector tried to auction off a silver Robbins medallion previously owned by Pete Conrad, which flew with him during the Apollo 12 mission. The collector set the minimum bid at $1,750, but no bids were received during the one day auction.
advertisement
)
