2019-W $5 gold Apollo 11 50th anniv. PCGS PR70DCAM First Strike

  

The Apollo coin set was the second time the US Mint made'curved' coins, which make them so different from the flat coins of US coinage. And also struck 12,075 Uncirculated gold coins, for a total production 44,909; less than the total of allowed mintage by Congress of 50,000.

Composition: 90% gold, 6% silver, balance copper. Overall Height: 0.141 inch. The coin contains 1/4 oz of gold. Background on the coin and Apollo 11. The obverse (heads) design features the inscriptions "MERCURY, " "GEMINI, " and "APOLLO, " separated by phases of the Moon, and a footprint on the lunar surface, which together represent the efforts of the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing.

The reverse (tails) design features a representation of a close-up of the famous'Buzz Aldrin on the Moon' photograph taken July 20, 1969, that shows just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The reflection in Buzz Aldrin's helmet includes astronaut Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. On July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" E. Took mankind's first steps on the Moon.

This unprecedented engineering, scientific, and political achievement was the culmination of the efforts of an estimated 400,000 Americans and secured our Nation's leadership in space for generations to come. Nearly half a century later, the United States is the only country ever to have attempted and succeeded in landing humans on a celestial body other than Earth and safely returning them home.