Silver Snoopy Awards |
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The Silver Snoopy Award was created in 1968 as part of the Manned Flight Awareness (now Space Flight Awareness) program. The idea was to allow the astronauts to recognize the exceptional contributions of individual workers (management are generally excluded) within the vast Apollo program workforce at NASA and its contractors, and the tradition has carried on to this day. The Silver Snoopy Award consists of a small Sterling silver Snoopy astronaut lapel pin, an official commendation letter, and (usually) an award certficate. The pin itself has always been flown on a manned mission (with the exception of the first few pins as noted below), and the awards are generally presented by a member of the astronaut corps, althought this is not always a crew member of the flight which carried the Snoopy pin. The rules specify that an individual can only receive one Snoopy Award during their lifetime, although in reality some individuals did receive more than one Silver Snoopy award. It is also specified that not more than one percent of the eligible workforce should receive the award in a particular year. Given the size of the eligible workforce this does not amount to much of a restriction but in fact the number of awards presented each year is small. The first Silver Snoopy Awards were presented in June 1968 to the four crew members of the LTA-8 project, which tested the Lunar Module in a thermal vacuum chamber. These first pins were not flown in space, and at least one other pin was awarded prior to the flight of Apollo 7. However, thereafter it is assumed that all awarded Silver Snoopy pins were flown. NASA maintains an online database of Snoopy Award recipients, containing over 12,000 names dating from 1968 to the present, but it's important to note that this database is incomplete, particularly for the pre-Shuttle era. Older data is apparently still being added since in early 2007 the database contained only twelve entries for the entire Apollo era, whereas by late 2009 it contained closer to 500. 
Number of Silver Snoopy pins flown per missionUsing the SFA database to count the number of awards presented during the period between the end of one mission and the next may give us some indication as to how many Silver Snoopy pins were carried on each Apollo mission. However, the data is certainly incomplete and in addition some of the award dates in the database appear to be approximations, with many entries on 01/01/69 and 01/01/70 which likely represent cases where the exact date is unknown. These entries distort the data. In addition, pins carried on earlier missions may have been presented after subsequent missions had flown - a pin awarded in say June 1969 could have been carried on Apollo 7, 8, 9 or 10 - so the result is not going to be definitve. The only 'clean' data is that for Apollo 7, where it can be seen that a minimum of 47 Silver Snoopy pins must have been carried on that mission since at least this number were awarded prior to the splashdown of Apollo 8. There appear to be many gaps in the SFA data, and the aforementioned approximate dates tend to produce artificial peaks between certain missions, but if we take the total number of recorded awards during the pre-Skylab date range we get an average of 36 pins awarded per mission. Over the period of the three Skylab missions (and prior to ASTP) a total of 207 awards are noted in the database, an average of 69 per flight. It's probably safe to assume the number of pins carried per Apollo misison was somewhere in the range of 50 to 100 at most. Following the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 practically no Silver Snoopys were awarded until the completion of the five Shuttle Approach and Landing Test free flights of 1977. Between the last ALT flight and the STS-1 maiden space flight of the Shuttle the SFA database shows 538 awards being presented which would seem to indicate a little over 100 Silver Snoopys being carried on each ALT flight. These are the only Silver Snoopys awarded to-date that were not actually flown in space. We do have the complete picture for Silver Snoopys carried on recent Shuttle flights as NASA has published the full contents of the Official Flight Kits since the 2001 mission of STS-105. This reveals that between 65 and 250 Silver Snoopys are currently carried per Shuttle flight, with an average of around 140 per mission. Collecting Silver Snoopy AwardsWhatever the actual numbers, Silver Snoopy pins are popular with space collectors as they are scarce, flown, and have a prestigious history. The fact that the design itself is undeniably cute only adds to their appeal. These pins are also sought-after by Snoopy memorabilia collectors, of which there are legions. 
Apollo-era Silver Snoopy Award A truly complete Silver Snoopy Award would include the lapel pin in its original plastic presentation box, along with the original award letter and certificate (where applicable). In practice these items usually become separated over the years. The award letter is the least important looking item and the most likely to be discarded if left as part of an estate. The certificates too are frequently lost or thrown out. Without either of these documents the only way to identify which flight the pin may have been carried on is by the name of the recipient. Unfortunately, as mentioned above the SFA database of Snoopy Awards is incomplete which means that you may not find the awardee there. If you have a pin without even the name of the recipient you have no way of ever knowing exactly when it was flown, although I have identified some characteristics below which may help tie a pin to a particular era. It's worth noting that even an anonymous pin is still valuable to collectors. In addition to those Silver Snoopys given out as awards a small number were apparently carried by the astronauts themselves as souvenirs. Most of the examples sold to date in the major space auctions come from these sources. FLOWN availability - Silver Snoopy pins occasionally turn up on auction sites such as eBay and a few have been sold in the major space auctions over the years. Most of the latter come direct from the collections of astronauts, and thus were never actually awarded. Pins sold on eBay without any accompanying documentation tend to sell for anywhere between $200 and $1,300+, with an average of maybe $500. Those with accompaying documentation are a minority, and generally sell at a premium. Unflown availability - In general all Silver Snoopy pins are assumed to be flown, although if the original award pin is lost NASA will apparently provide an unflown replacement example to the awardee. It is worth noting that there are many fake military pins and badges out there so we can't to rule out the possibility that fake Silver Snoopys may exist (see Snoopy variant X below). With this in mind I would say that it is definitely worth paying extra for an example with established provenance. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Silver Snoopy Award pin variantsThose Silver Snoopy pins bearing an "r" or "R" Sterling hallmark on the reverse are believed to have been manufactured by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Mass. The pins are made of Sterling silver, measure approximately 9.5mm x 12mm (3/8" x 1/2"), and weigh roughly 1.5g (0.05oz) without the clasp. Given that these Silver Snoopy pins have been produced for over forty years it is not surprising that a number of variants of the pins exist. Although the design of the front - based on a drawing produced specially for the purpose by Snoopy creator Charles M. Schulz - has not changed signficantly, the variants can be identified by differences on the reverse, specifically the text and location of the Sterling silver hallmark stamp, the style and location of the pin attachment, and the location of the United Feature Syndicate copyright text. These differences are detailed below for the examples I have found to-date. When I began studying the Silver Snoopy pins my intial impression was that there were perhaps three variants of the Silver Snoopy pin - one Apollo-era, one early Shuttle and one later Shuttle era. However, when I started to compare examples from a few Apollo missions I soon found that there were many more variants than this. My impression now is that, at least in the Apollo era, pins were probably ordered in small batches sufficient to cover maybe one to four flights, and that the pin, hallmark and copyright text on the reverse were positioned differently for each manufacturing run. When trying to match variants to particular flights it's important to understand that it is quite possible that pins from the end of one manufacturing run would have been carried on a flight alongside new pins from a subsequent production run. This could make it very difficult, maybe even impossible, to tie a given pin to a specific flight based purely on the details on the reverse. With over 20 distinct variants seen so far we can draw at least one preliminary conclusion regarding the age of those pins bearing a Robbins hallmark. The lowercase "r" Robbins hallmark appears to have been used through the Apollo era and up to at least the early Shuttle flights (to STS-2 in 1982). By 1985 this had been replaced by an uppercase "R" hallmark which continues to be used to this day. This at least allows us to assign most pins to one of two broad age ranges. Note that fronts of individual pins can look quite different in photos depending on the lighting type and angle, and on the condition of the pin surface in terms of corrosion, polishing or wear. In reality the fronts are virtually identical in design, with the notable exception of the those lacking the Robbins hallmark. NB: The variant numbering given below is arbitrary and subject to change as new variants are identified and existing ones are associated with different dates. External references to these variant numbers are best avoided as they will likely to lead to confusion. Silver Snoopy pin variants with lowercase Robbins hallmarkThe Silver Snoopy pins in this group all bear a lowercase "r" Robbins hallmark, which appears to date their manufacture to the Apollo through early Shuttle period, with the end point coming somewhere between 1982 and 1985.
This pin was sold on eBay without any identification or paperwork. This pin has a vertical pinback clasp which matches those of known Apollo 9 and 10 examples but has the Sterling hallmark in a different location on the reverse. The logical conclusion is that this pin probably comes from either the Apollo 7 or 8 missions. although it's impossible to confirm this without seeing other examples from those flights.
This pin was sold on eBay without any identification or paperwork. Another pin without paperwork and with a vertical clasp, this does not match the variant above or the Apollo 9/10 variant below. The implication is that it likely comes from Apollo 7 or 8.
Jim McDivitt carried examples of this variant of pin on the Apollo 9 flight in March 1969, and Tom Stafford carried some on Apollo 10 in May 1969. A matching example was also awarded by Frank Borman on March 18, 1969, just a few days after the Apollo 9 splashdown. Examples of this variant could also have been carried on Apollo 8. The fact that this pin has a clutchback rather than a vertical pin-back design adds to the confusion of trying to tie pin designs to dates or missions, as I had previously thought that the vertical pin-back was indicative of pins from Apollo 10 and earlier. A further update regarding this pin variety is that Dave Scott carried at least one example in a suit pocket during the Apollo 15 mission. It is possible that he acquired the pin at the time of the Apollo 9 mission then carried it with him on Apollo 15.
Although closest on overall layout to the Variant IV pin above, this pin has the UFC copyright text located higher up the pin, roughyl at the mid point. The Sterling mark is also very lightly stamped and the Robbins "r" or "R" hallmark is not visible in this example although this may be due to a light strike as it does not seem to fit into the style of non-Robbins pin variants detailed towards the bottom of this page.
Tom Stafford apparently carried at least one of these pins on Apollo 10 in May 1969.
This pin has no known award date but the vertical clasp on reverse would seem to indicate an early example. The hallmark differs from the other types seen so far with certical clasps.
This pin was awarded in September 1969. This date, combined with the fact that the reverse features a straight pin rather than the vertical clasp associated with some known Apollo 9/10 versions would seem to indicate that this may have been carried on Apollo 11, but this is far from certain.
Although awarded in early 1970, the award letter that accompanied this pin was signed by Buzz Aldrin which might be taken to imply an Apollo 11 link. It seems however that the awarding astronaut was not necessarily related to the mission on which a pin was flown so this pin could be from Apollo 12, as indicated by the date. Confusingly, the very small Sterling hallmark with short "r", and the low copyright text differentiate it from the variant III pins known to have been carried on Apollo 12 and 13, which leaves this as a mystery.
This Silver Snoopy pin was awarded on Mar 9 1982, which means it was likely carried on either STS-1 or STS-2.
Only one example of this Silver Snoopy pin has been seen so far, and since that example was 'orphaned' (without documentation) there is no known tie to any particular mission or time period. The details on the back are similar to Type IV but the text is positioned lower on the back. Silver Snoopy pin variants with uppercase Robbins hallmarkThe Silver Snoopy pins in this group all bear an uppercase "R" Robbins hallmark, which appears to date their manufacture to the early Shuttle period (from around 1982 to 1985) through to the modern day.
This Silver Snoopy pin, awarded in September 1985 following the STS-51I mission, shows the re-introduction of a clasp mechanism on the reverse. Previously I had only seen this in examples from early Apollo missions.
Whilst most of the above variants have near identical designs on the front, the pins I've seen from Shuttle flights all have a distinct mass of metal visible between Snoopy's scarf and the hand holding the case. In earlier variants there is a clean divide between the hand and scarf.
One of these pins flown on STS-95 in 1998 was awarded in 2004. The details on the back are similar to the STS-45 version above but the Sterling hallmark is larger with a distinct dot at the end.
Although the layout and details of the hallmark and copyright marks on the back of this pin are very similar to the STS-45 example above, this pin has a much deeper cut-out under Snoopy's left arm. Pins of this variant are known to have been flown flown on STS-76 (1996) and STS-105 (2001), with the former being awarded in 1998 and the latter in 2002.
Silver Snoopy pin variants without a Sterling hallmarkThe only pin to fall into this group so far is the type identified below.
I've now seen two examples of this pin type, so my initial theory that the missing hallmark stamp might be a manufacturing error is no longer valid. The design of the pin is consistend with Robbins examples but why it should be lacking a Sterling and Robbins hallmark is unclear. The first example I saw came from the collection of astronaut Jim McDivitt. It was not identified as flown, and given McDivitt's long career at NASA (1962-1972) and subsequent career at Rockwell (from 1981 to the 90s) the pin could really have come from any period. The second example is part of the Irwin family collection. In fact Irwin was the only astronaut to be awarded a Silver Snoopy pin - one of the very first examples, awarded as a result of the LTA-8 tests - but we don't know if this pin was the one awarded or one he was given by another astronaut or took with him as a souvenir on Apollo 15. Silver Snoopy pin variants without a Robbins hallmarkThe Silver Snoopy pins in this group all lack a Robbins "r" or "R" alongside the Sterling hallmark on the reverse, implying they may have been produced by another manufacturer. Interestingly, all these pins also share some distinct differences (apart from the lack of Robbins mark) from the other variants identified thus far. 
Comparative detail of Robbins-hallmarked pins (top row) On the fronts, the Snoopy design itself shows some notable differences from the Robbins versions. The top row in the image on the right shows close-up details of some typical Robbins variants while the lower row shows the same areas of three variants seen so far without a Robbins hallmark. The yellow arrows highlight two short 'dashes' in the upper right area of the helmet that are present on all three non-Robbins-Hallmarked pins but absent from the Robbins hallmarked variants. More obviously, all three non-Robbins-Hallmarked pins show a distinctly cross-eyed Snoopy, with the relative position of the eyes quite different to that seen on all the Robbins-hallmarked variants. Another common feature of these pins is that the United Feature Syndicate copyright text on the reverse is stamped, as opposed to the raised text used on the Robbins hallmarked versions. Unfortunately, none of the examples seen thus far has been accompanied by award documentation which leaves the origin of these apparently non-Robbins Silver Snoopy pins a mystery at present. Whatever their origin, the fact that all three examples seen so far seem to be from different production batches seems to indicate they were not a one-off experiment.
This pin falls into the group of variants lacking the Robbins "r" hallmark. As with the other variants in this group the UFC copyright text on the reverse is stamped rather than raised and the Snoopy design is rather cross-eyed. (Note that in the pictures above the pin is angled slightly which distorts the shape somewhat). The owner of this pin believes that it was from the Apollo 11 mission but it is difficult to draw any definitve conculsions about this variant without more examples. The discovery of variant XV which has tangible evidence tying it to Apollo 11 would tend to imply this mystery pin has other origins.
Another mystery pin sold without any background information or documentation this variant shares the features of the other pins lacking the Robbins "r" hallmark, including the stamped UFC copyright text on the reverse and the somewhat cross-eyed Snoopy. This particular variant has a weakly- stamped upside-down STERLING hallmark in different lettering to that of variant II or XXI.
Another pin lacking the Robbins "r" hallmark, and like variants II and XVII featuring stamped UFC copyright text and a rather cross-eyed Snoopy. Since this pin was once again one without any accompanying documentation or known provenance it is difficult at present to explain the background of these pins that seem to have been produced by a company other than Robbins. Replica / fake Silver Snoopy pinsThe value of Silver Snoopy pins makes it likely that fakes have been or will be produced at some stage. These may prove very difficult to identify, which is why a premium should always be placed on pins with solid provenance. To-date the only identified non-NASA Silver Snoopy pin (detailed below) is apparently a Hollywood replica as opposed to an outright fake.
This odd-looking pin was sold via eBay in December 2009. The seller had no accompanying documentation or information on its origins. Based on the crude finish, clear differences in design, and complete lack of hallmark and copyright information on the rear, my suspicion is that this is a fake or replica pin. Update: Apparently several replica Silver Snoopy pins were made as props for the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon" and this is likely an example of one of these prop pins. |
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Annex: Apollo-era Silver Snoopy Award pins sold at auction or identified in private or museum collections
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