One Dollar Bill signed by the "First Three"

In 1965, Rick Boos started on a journey known to many collectors of a multi-autographed piece. Rick, with a dollar bill in hand, managed to capture the signatures of the first American in Space, the first American to orbit the Earth and the first man to walk on the Moon.

Along the way, Rick managed to meet some other aviation and space greats and they witnessed the signing of this single dollar bill by Alan Shepard, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Rick also documented each signing as it occurred either through newspaper clippings, photographs and even a letter directly from one of the signers.

As a boy out with his father to see the greats of aviation at the Aviation Hall of Fame gathering, Rick approached John Glenn to sign a dollar bill given to him by his Dad. The date was December 15, 1965 at the Sheraton Hotel in Dayton, Ohio. Glenn also inscribed the bill, "Best regards to Rick" and then signed his name under the inscription.

John Glenn signed the dollar as aviation greats Jimmy Doolittle, Eddie Rickenbacker and James Stewart looked on. Rick told me is was a great moment of his childhood.

It is natural for an Ohio borne and bred boy to be interested in flying, since Ohio is considered the birthplace of aviation. The Wright Brothers lived in Dayton, the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, The US Air Force Museum and the Aviation Hall of Fame are also in Ohio, so it was a sure bet that a boy like Rick would grow up appreciating all that flies.

As a coincidence, Neil Armstrong also grew up in Ohio. Rick met and became friends of Neil Armstrong's parents over the years, so it was easy for Rick to obtain Neil's signature during his Apollo 11 homecoming parade back in 1969. Rick left the bill with Steve and Viola Armstrong, so they could have Neil sign the dollar. Neil signed it on September 6, 1969 at his parents home located on 912 Neil Armstrong Drive in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Then for some reason, Neil took it back to Houston. Neil sent the signed dollar bill back to Rick with the above letter (a copy of the letter is shown above) wishing him well on his induction in the US Air Force.

The Alan Shepard signature was more difficult. Rick had sent the dollar bill to Houston for Admiral Shepard's signature, but his request was denied because it was felt to be inappropriate to deface American currency. By then the dollar bill had been signed by Glenn and Armstrong.

Many years later on July 26, 1986, Rick would be at a Mercury astronaut gathering at the Dayton Convention Center and Shepard did sign the dollar bill "in person" for him. John Glenn, Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton witnessed Alan Shepard sign the now well traveled dollar bill for Rick. A total of twenty-one years elapsed between John Glenn's signature and Alan Shepard's signature.

This is an interesting example of how a collector procured three of the more famous signatures of the 20th Century. It is also a wonderful story about the interaction of a young man, a dollar bill and the "First Three."