Apollo 11 circuit breaker and pen sell for $857,600 at Sotheby’s
The dried-out marker and broken switch, sold on behalf of the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust, failed to break space memorabilia records but highlighted the legal framework allowing astronauts to retain title to mission hardware.
A dried-out felt-tip pen and a broken circuit breaker switch used by Buzz Aldrin to restart the Apollo 11 ascent engine sold for $857,600 at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday. The items, which averted a potential disaster during the 1969 Moon landing, were sold on behalf of the Buzz Aldrin Family Trust. The sale price, which includes the buyer’s premium, did not break records for space memorabilia, with the highest previous sale being $2.88 million for a Soviet space capsule in 2011.
The pen, a Duro-brand Rocket felt-tip marker, was used by Aldrin to reset the Engine Arm circuit breaker because he feared electrocution from inserting a finger or a metal-tipped instrument into the live socket. This detail corrects a long-standing misconception that the astronaut used a Fisher Space Pen, a brand that previously included the story on its packaging until Aldrin clarified the safety risks of using metal-tipped tools in live electrical sockets.
The total hammer price was $670,000, with the remainder attributed to the buyer’s premium. The winning bidder was identified only as a participant by phone. This sale marks a successful recovery for the lot, which had previously failed to meet its reserve price in 2022, reaching only $650,000 at that time. The transaction occurred during Sotheby’s annual "Geek Week," which featured 134 lots and generated total proceeds of $2,862,336.
A 2012 law reaffirms that Apollo-era astronauts retain legal title to spacecraft hardware and crew equipment they kept as mementos. This legislation allows Aldrin and his peers to sell, trade, or donate these items as they see fit. The pen and switch had previously been loaned to the Smithsonian for its "Destination Moon" traveling exhibit, which toured five US cities over two years leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in 2019.
Other notable items from Aldrin’s collection sold during the same event included a Skylab III pressure hatch for $192,000 and a modern Moonshine gold Omega Speedmaster for $70,400. While the pen and switch sale was significant, it did not enter the top 10 highest prices for space artifacts, which begin at $1.625 million for a Bulova watch worn during the Apollo 15 mission.
