By World Coin News October 19, 2009

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk, the Perth Mint has released the fourth rotating coin in its Orbit and Beyond series celebrating Apollo 11’s historic mission in 1969.

The 99.9 percent silver coin’s reverse features images of Apollo 11 during different phases of its mission and an image of an astronaut’s footprint on the moon. These elements, which appear on a colored representation of the universe, and the border inscription, “1969 First Man on the Moon,” orbit around a colored image of Earth.

The obverse bears the Raphael Maklouf effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, year and denomination, all of which surrounds another colored image of Earth.

The coin weighs 31.140 grams and is 38.79 mm in diameter. It has a limited mintage of 25,000 and is issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of the Cook Islands.

Each coin is accompanied by a numbered certificate of authenticity and comes protected by an acrylic capsule in an elliptical-shaped silver display case.

To order the coin, which became available Sept. 15, or to obtain more information, visit the Perth Mint online at www.perthmint.com.au.

This “First Man on the Moon” coin comes after release of the series’ orbital coins marking the 50th anniversary of Sputnik in 1957, Yuri Gagarin being the first man in space in 1961 and the first space walk in 1965.

The space walk and Gagarin coins are still available for sale on Perth Mint’s Web site. The Sputnik anniversary coin is sold out.

More Resources:

• Ultimate Standard Catalog of World Coins 5-CD Set (1600-Present)

• 2010 U.S. Coin Digest, The Complete Guide to Current Market Values

• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 to Date