Skylab Commemorative Gold and Silver version
Year: 1980
Mint/Issuer: Perth Mint, Kara International Inc
Mintage: 10000/315 (silver)
Mintage: 1000/500/23 (gold)
Flown metal: Fragment of Skylab debris
Additional Information:
Note: I have now found a gold version and article about these medals. There are some discrepancies about how many were made. Coa and indicate 10000 silver n 1000 gold, the story says 500 gold were made but a book indicates only 315/23 but have found a gold with a serial number of 25-30.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/04/arts/numismatics-pieces-of-skylab-may-land-in-collectors-pockets.html?pagewanted=all
The two sides of the medal show two different views of Skylab. The obverse depicts it in one of the 34,981 orbits it made in a six-year period over the Pacific Ocean with the U.S., Canada, Japan and Australia in the background. The reverse traces its final re-entry path over the Indian Ocean and Australia. Master dies were prepared by the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, and striking was done by the Perth Mint.
The gold and silver used in the medals came from mines in Western Australia near the final resting place of Skylab. According to Kara International, production has been limited to 500 pieces in gold and 10,000 in silver -all of them proofs. The gold version contains 41.87 grams (about 1 1/2 ounces) of 24-carat gold and is priced at $1,895 in U.S. funds.
The silver version contains 25.9 grams (slightly less than an ounce) of .999 fine silver and is priced at $395. Both types are 38.1 millimeters in diameter - the same size as an old-style U.S. silver dollar. Both are encased in special capsules and housed in presentation cases.
