Giant Step for Neil Armstrong Autograph

Forty years ago tomorrow, astronaut Neil Armstrong hurtled into space aboard Apollo 11 for his rendezvous with immortality on the dusty surface of the moon.

But before he took a lift to the top of a 30-story Saturn V rocket, Armstrong paused and wrote a cheque for $US10.50 to a colleague.

"Here's a cheque for the loan," Armstrong said to Hal Collins, NASA chief of mission support. "But don't cash it, because I will be coming back."

Four decades later, collectors say Armstrong's autograph is the most valuable from any living person.

That cheque, with a clearly legible name that flows gracefully across its bottom, is now for sale through a Boston auction house.

"He's the most sought-after human being for an autograph," said Anthony Pizzitola, vice-president of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club, the largest of its kind in the world. "That's based on the fact that he just stopped signing in 1994. It's just like a stock; that's basically what it is."

The confluence of ultra-rare qualities — an Armstrong signature, the timing of launch day, and the approaching anniversary — is sweet music to RR Auction, which is handling the sale. Bids appear likely to top the previous high of $US19,000 ($A24,000) for an Armstrong signing, Mr Pizzitola said.

RR Auction owner Bob Eaton, whose modest storefront masks a star-studded office where Marilyn Monroe competes with Teddy Roosevelt for wall space, said the cheque showed something of Armstrong's character. During a pressure-packed morning of flight preparations, the astronaut took time to repay a friend.

Armstrong, a former test pilot and Korean War aviator, stopped signing autographs in 1994 after becoming concerned about the profiteering and forgeries associated with his signature.

He once even threatened to sue his longtime barber, who had sold a bit of Armstrong's hair for $US3000.

What makes this autograph extra special, said Mr Eaton, who recently sold a signed copy of the famous tongue-wagging photo of Albert Einstein, is that Armstrong included his rarely used middle initial.

It was one of only three times he signed his full name, Neil A. Armstrong, during the Apollo 11 mission. The other two times were on a customs declaration after re-entry and on a plaque left on the moon, RR Auction staff said.

Bids might top $US30,000 by the deadline, said Bob Livingston, the auction's director of sales and marketing.

Bidders who participated before the deadline can submit new offers during 10-minute segments that are reset with each fresh bid.

Once 10 minutes have passed without a new offer, the sale is closed.

So far, the bidding, which opened on July 10, has attracted interest from Europe and around the United States, the auction staff said.

The allure of an authenticated autograph, in addition to its monetary value, includes the knowledge that "it's absolutely personal", Mr Livingston said.

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