A Series 1953 $2 United States note (also known as a legal tender note) carried by American astronaut Gene Cernan on three separate NASA missions highlights RR Auction’s April 23 sale featuring the Richard Jurek Space-Flown Numismatic Collection.

The 155 lots in the Jurek collection assembled over 25 years serve as the anchor for a 594-lot offering of space exploration collectibles.

Cernan carried the Series 1953 $2 United States (or legal tender) note aboard the Gemini 9A mission, and the Apollo 10 and Apollo 17 missions.

According to the auction lot description, the Series 1953 $2 United States note is the only known piece of paper money flown in Earth orbit and lunar orbit and carried to the moon’s surface.

The overall RR Auction event also includes a 1910 Indian Head gold $2.50 quarter eagle flown on Gemini 4; and a 1945 Winged Liberty Head dime flown with the Liberty Bell 7 mission and recovered from Astronaut Gus Grissom’s sunken capsule.

Certified by Paper Money Guaranty as Choice Fine 15 Net and housed in a sealed paper money holder, Cernan’s thrice-flown Series 1953 $2 United States note is the centerpiece of the Jurek collection.

History made

Gemini 9A, piloted by Cernan, was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA’s Gemini program. It was the seventh crewed Gemini flight, the 15th crewed American flight and the 23rd spaceflight of all time.

Apollo 10 (flying May 18 through 26, 1969) was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States’ Apollo program and the second to orbit Earth’s  moon. NASA, the mission’s operator, described it as a “dress rehearsal” for the first moon landing (by Apollo 11, two months later). Cernan served as the lunar module pilot on Apollo 10.

Apollo 17 (flying Dec. 7 through 19, 1972) was the 11th and final crewed mission of NASA’s Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the moon. Cernan, who served as

mission commander, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above.

Gemini IV was the second crewed spaceflight in NASA’s Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the 10th crewed American spaceflight. Astronauts James McDivitt and Ed White orbited Earth 66 times in four days, making it the first U.S. flight to approach the five-day flight of the Soviet Vostok 5. White completed the first space walk.

Originally carried by Cernan’s father as a good-luck talisman, the Series 1953 $2 United States (or legal tender) note, serial number A10241591A, first traveled into space aboard Gemini 9A in June 1966.

During that mission, Cernan conducted an extravehicular activity outside the spacecraft, exposing the artifact to the vacuum of space.

Following his father’s passing in 1967, Cernan flew the bill again on Apollo 10, descending to within roughly 8.4 miles of the moon’s surface before returning safely to Earth.

The note completed its most historic journey when Cernan carried it aboard Apollo 17. During the return flight, the artifact was again exposed to the vacuum of space during a deep-space EVA (extravehicular activity) conducted by Apollo 17 command module pilot Ron Evans.

A full overview of the Jurek collection can be viewed at https://www.rrauction.com/richard-jurek-collection/

Additional highlights from the collection include:

• An Apollo 13-flown Series 1963A $1 Federal Reserve note signed by astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Ken Mattingly (Lot 5268).

• An Apollo 16-flown Series 1963 $2 United States note signed by astronauts John Young, Charlie Duke, and Ken Mattingly, graded PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 (Lot 5348).

• A Mercury-Atlas 6 Friendship 7-flown Series 1953A $2 United States (or legal tender) note signed by astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter, graded PMG Very Fine 30 Net (Lot 5062).

• A Gemini 3-flown Series 1953C $2 United States (legal tender) note signed by astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young, graded PMG Choice Very Fine 35 (Lot 5094).

• A Gemini 4-flown Series 1953 $2 United States (legal tender) note signed by astronaut Jim McDivitt, graded PMG Extremely Fine 40 (Lot 5096).

  Other numismatic artifacts include a Gemini 4-flown 1910 Indian Head gold $2½ quarter eagle from the personal collection of astronaut Jim McDivitt, as well as a winged Liberty Head dime associated with the Liberty Bell 7 mission.

  Full details can be found at https:www.rrauction.com/richard-jurek-collection/.