Alan Bean's Apollo 12 Hammer Sells for $812,500 at Heritage Auction

Heritage Auctions' Space Exploration Signature Auction, held on July 23-24, garnered a total of $3,114,908, largely due to remarkable artifacts from the Apollo program. The standout item was the Apollo 12 Lunar Module Flown and Surface-Used Geological Hammer belonging to Alan Bean, which fetched $812,500. This hammer became historically notable on November 19, 1969, when Bean utilized it to dislodge the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator on the moon's surface. This auction marked Heritage's most significant event since The Armstrong Family Collection III in July 2019, which achieved $4,636,912. Collectors from around the globe vied for high-quality relics associated with lunar exploration history.