The Series 1957A $1 silver certificate flown on the first U.S. manned orbital flight — the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission aboard Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962 — sold for $11,250 during the Nov. 12 Heritage Auctions Space Exploration Signature Auction.

The note had an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000.

The note bears the autographs of Lt. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. and backup astronaut M. Scott Carpenter as well as many others, most of them members of the NASA flight crew for this mission. 

According to the catalog description, the note has “at least 30 signatures total” and was “originally given by a member of the flight crew to the pastor of his church near the cape [Cape Canaveral, Florida].”

The catalog states that “there were apparently 52 pieces of U.S. currency ($1 and $2) that flew with Glenn on this historic flight.”

The lot includes the note, which is lightly attached by the corners to a decorative printed certificate that is also signed by Glenn and Carpenter. 

For more information about the auction, visit the firm’s website.

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