The landmark sounds from history feature on Sounds of Legacy, a silver coin with an audio link to Armstrong’s moon landing speech

“One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” With these words, astronaut Neil Armstrong opened up the next phase in human exploration by stepping from the Apollo 11 lunar lander onto the surface of the Moon. Joined 20 minutes later by Buzz Aldrin, and watched overhead by designated driver, Michael Collins, this was an event that was watched around the world with wonder.

It was July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC that the lunar module Eagle touched down in the Sea of Tranquillity, and six hours later Armstrong set foot on the surface. Along with Aldrin, they spent around 135 minutes walking on the lunar surface and collected a little more than 21 kg of material to return to Earth. Including their time in the module, they spent over 21 hours on the Moon.

Armstrong’s speech has entered the lexicon of humanity as a whole, and forms the basis of this new coin from Pop Coins, and Universal Mint SA. On the surface (no pun intended) it’s a one-ounce proof silver coin, with some colour highlights. It depicts Armstrong on the moon surface, with the lunar lander behind him, and a coloured Earth in the sky. It’s actually a fine composition. To his left is a soundwave, while to his right, an old-school microphone. The unique feature sits on the obverse, Here, nestled inside a soundwave is a QR Code. When scanned, it opens up a web browser, and plays the speech, from the original recording.

It’s hard to believe it was 56 years ago, when the Apollo 11 mission captivated the world, and it’s equally frustrating that mankind has done so little since then to open up the moon to us, with current efforts locked in an endless cycle of rocket failures. Hopefully, man will once again walk on the moon, and perhaps a future coin in this series will carry a message of the opening of the first permanent structure on the lunar surface. In the meantime, this coin is a nostalgic, and thought-provoking remembrance of an incredible feat of human endurance and innovation. Available to order now, just 999 will be struck, and it comes boxed with a certificate of authenticity.