Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin.

My friend Joe retired at the start of 2018, and, as people tend to do when they retire, he and his partner Drew have relocated to a less expensive neighbourhood. (This is easy to do if you've been living in Vancouver.)  In their case, they ended up in exotic Chilliwack, just east of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley.  However, things like medical appointments still bring Joe back into the big city, which has made it easier for use to keep in touch.

We met for lunch last week, and he cheerfully announced that he had a little present for me.  He explained that he'd been going through some of his possessions to clear out the clutter, and had stumbled across something that he thought would be perfect for me.  He then handed me a small envelope that contained a commemorative plated aluminum medal from the Apollo 11 landing in 1969, in absolutely beautiful condition.

Surprisingly, there's almost no information about this medal online.  There are a couple of what appeared to be matching coins for sale on eBay, but both with absolutely no provenance or history. Littleton Stamp and Coin is still in business, but their site doesn't offer any sort of historical information.*  At 60 cents each, Littleton must have struck thousands if not tens of thousands of these medals, but there's no documentary evidence of them at all - which just makes it a more interesting and intriguing present.

I honestly hadn't realized the significance of the timing of Joe's gift until I showed the coin to Karli, who said, "Oh, July 20th, you can post about that on the actual anniversary date." 

Thank you very much, Joe.  As per previous postings, I treasure my friends and their inexplicable willingness to indulge and enable my interests - which is part of what friendship is.

- Sid

 * Ironically so, considering that they sell antique coins and commemorative items.