Charles A. Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, collected coins from several countries during their 1931 flight to the Orient and 1933 flights across the North and South Atlantic. They acquired this Norwegian coin, which is dated 1925, during their trans-Atlantic trip.

Although the Lindberghs collected souvenirs along the way, their two trans-global trips were more than just vacations. They were also significant survey flights which provided information for the planning of commercial air routes. Their 1931 trip to the Orient proved the viability of traveling from the West to the Far East via the great circle route to the North. Their 1933 trip across the North and South Atlantic revealed many of the difficulties of trans-Atlantic air travel.

Upon returning from their 1933 trip, the Lindberghs donated their aircraft, a Lockheed Sirius given the name Tingmissartoq-"One who flies like a big bird"-by a Greenland Eskimo boy, as well as many of their personal items, including their coin collection, to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The aircraft and accompanying items were displayed in the Hall of Ocean Life until 1955, when they were sent to the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. After deciding that Lindbergh artifacts did not really represent the Air Force, the Air Force Museum transferred the collection to the Smithsonian Institution's Air Museum in 1959.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Date

1931-1933

Country of Origin

Norway

Type

MEMORABILIA-Events

Physical Description

Coin collected by Charles and Anne Lindbergh during their flights.
Originally there were one hundred and eighty-four (184) but thirteen (13) were used in two (2) seperate displays, see catalog number A20030078001 and A20030079033. Twenty five (25) were selected for Pioneers of Flight, gallery 208. See also A20030078002-A20030078027

Dimensions

3-D: 0.2 × 2.5cm (1/16 × 1 in.)

Materials

Metal

Inventory Number

A20030078017

Credit Line

Transferred from the USAF Museum

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply
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