| 5th of July 2019 |
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| Coins commemorating the Apollo 11 moon-landing |
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The Royal Australian Mint has launched limited edition domed coins commemorating
the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Three new coins were released including the world’s first dome-shaped coloured
nickel plated coin, a domed gold coin and a coloured silver domed coin as
part of a collaborative set with the United States Mint.
The obverse of the new coins depicts the CSIRO Parkes radio telescope pointed towards the Moon, from which it is receiving television signals of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The text in the background is an excerpt from the transcript of Commander Neil Armstrong's journal of the lunar landing. The other side depicts one of the Apollo 11 astronauts standing on the surface of the Moon, with the lunar module Eagle in the background. The Earth, visible in colour, in the sky behind the astronaut, shows Australia directly facing the Moon. The support of the Apollo 11 mission was a fantastic demonstration of Australia's expertise in spacecraft tracking and communication. Sharing news of this 'giant leap' was made possible by the technology and Australian teams at NASA's Honeysuckle Creek tracking station near Canberra and CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope in NSW. The coins are Australian legal tender and can be purchased from the Mint’s website. For more details, see the Mint's press release. (Image credit: Royal Australian Mint) |