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Neil Armstrong check sells for $27,350

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 16, 2009 04:01 PM

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A check written by Neil Armstrong moments before he blasted off for the moon 40 years ago sold today in an online auction for $27,350.

This check has a rare autograph from Neil Armstrong, written on the day of the moon launch. (Ellen Harasimowicz for The Boston Globe)

RR Auction of Amherst, N.H., sold the check after 31 bids to Jack Staub, an engineer and business owner from Newport Beach, Calif.

“The moon mission was one of my earliest memories, and that in itself is significant,” Staub said today in a telephone interview.

On Tuesday, the Globe told the story behind the $10.50 check. Before Armstrong rode an elevator to the top of a 30-story-tall Saturn V rocket, he paused and wrote the check to a colleague.

“Here’s a check for the loan,’’ Armstrong said to Hal Collins, NASA chief of mission support. “But don’t cash it, because I will be coming back."

Collins heeded Armstrong's advice and never cashed the check. The bidding for the memento started at $500.

“The check is extremely valuable because it was written on the day of the famous launch and signed by Armstrong, who was probably the Christopher Columbus of the 20th century,” said Bobby Livingston, director of sales and marketing at RR Auction.

After placing the winning bid, Staub acknowledged that he had been willing to pay up to $40,000 for the keepsake. Before the auction, Staub said his wife, Jade, rolled her eyes when he told her of his plan.

“I want to keep this check," Staub said. "I am definitely going to hold onto it and pass it on to my kids.”