You may not be able to go to the Moon, but you can own the flag that did. The American flag that circled the Moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission is now up for auction and could be the souvenir of your interstellar dreams, thanks to RR Auction. It comes from the personal collection of Command Module Pilot Michael Collins.
The historic 6 x 4-inch American flag accompanied the Apollo 11 mission in lunar orbit and is signed and flight-certified in black ballpoint: “Carried to the moon on Apollo XI, July 1969, Michael Collins CMP.” The certificate reads: “This flag traveled to the moon with Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, July 20, 1969 / Apollo 11 / July 16–24, 1969 / Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin,” with the mission’s emblem below. Neil Armstrong’s immortal words also appear along the bottom border: “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
A deeply meaningful piece of memorabilia, it captures one of the most iconic moments in history. The lot is part of RR’s Space Exploration sale ending October 16, with an estimated value of $50,000. In December 2022, Heritage sold a similar Collins-signed, CAG-certified Apollo 11–flown 6 x 4-inch flag for nearly $70,000. Another Collins Apollo 11 flag fetched close to $90,000 in an earlier RR Auction sale, underscoring how prized such artifacts have become among collectors.
For those wondering why multiple Apollo 11–flown flags exist, astronauts were allowed to carry Personal Preference Kits (PPKs), small pouches for mementos, on the mission. Collins’s own kit included three miniature flags representing the United States, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Air Force. It’s a chance to own a piece of space history, one that still carries the quiet resolve of the men who made that first journey possible.
