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When they arrived on the U.S.S. Essex following the recovery operation the Apollo 7 crew were wearing their betacloth flightsuits complete with betacloth mission patches as shown in the first two photos above.

Some time thereafter, however, they changed into blue jumpsuits which had embroidered mission patches attached.

These embroidered mission patches are shown quite clearly in detail from the photo KSC-68PC-211.

This patch was actually embroidered as a circular design with a white surround, as worn by the suit techs in S68-48789, and clearly visible on suit tech Clyde Teague in 68-H-936. It was trimmed by hand around the central area of the design for use on the blue jumpsuits of the crew.

The Crew Patches

Patch id:

Apollo 7 Crew Patch

Worn by crew? This patch design was worn by the crew on their blue jump suits at recovery.
Flown? Unknown.
Manufacturer: Texas Art Embroidery.
Distribution: Apparently distributed to the crew and a few NASA/contractor workers only.
Dimensions: 4" / 105mm untrimmed
Type: Part embroidered on white cloth. Merrowed edge without 'tail' (selvedged).
Scarcity: Extremely rare. Perhaps 4 sold in the last 4 years.
Value: Unflown examples have sold for $1003 to $1595 in recent years[1].
Notes: The ribbing visible in the South American landmass on the Crew Patch is particularly distinctive.
Patch id:

Apollo 7 Crew Souvenir Patch

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? Yes. Walt Cunningham stated that he carried a few of these patches in a suit pocket.
Manufacturer: Unknown.
Distribution: Apparently distributed only to the crew and within NASA.
Dimensions: ??
Type: Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge without 'tail' (selvedged).
Scarcity: Extremely rare. Perhaps 4 sold in the last 4 years.
Value: An example sold recently for $761[2].
Notes: The blue background has a 'knitted' structure (quite visible on the reverse of the patch), the "VII" is in yellow, and the landmasses are much more detailed than on the AB version.
Patch id:

Apollo 7 "New" Crew Patch

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Unknown.
Distribution: Sold direct by Walt Cunningham in late 2010.
Dimensions: Body 3¼" / 83mm
Type: Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity: 300 made.
Value: Sold at $15 unsigned, or $70 signed.
Notes: This is a modern style patch which reproduces the original insignia in very fine detail.

Other Embroidered Mission Patches

Patch id:

AB Emblem patch

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem
Distribution: Sold as souvenirs.
Dimensions: 4" / 101mm high
Type: Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity: Uncommon in bare cloth back form.
Value: Bare cloth back examples sell for maybe $5-15.
Notes: The AB Emblem patch also has quite different coloration to the crew version and a much skinnier "VII".
Patch id:

Lion Brothers patch

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Lion Brothers
Distribution: Was available commercially.
Dimensions: 4½" x 3½" / 101mm x 89mm
Type: Part embroidered on blue twill. Stitched border with cut edge.
Scarcity: Scarce.
Value: Examples sell for around $15-35. Up to $50 for the rarer purple variant.
Notes: The Lion Brothers Apollo 7 patch has distinctly different coloration to the crew version. In addition, the orbital trail touches the nose of the CSM in this version. Note also that a rare plastic backed prototype version of this patch exists.
Also exists as a variant embroidered on purple twill which is somewhat rarer than the regular blue version.
Patch id:

[AS7UNK1]

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Unknown.
Distribution: Unknown.
Dimensions: 4 1/8" x 3¼" / 105mm x 83mm
Type: Fully embroidered. Stitched border (trimmed).
Scarcity: Unknown.
Value: Unknown.
Notes: This patch from an unknown manufacturer (possibly AB) is smaller than the usual 4" patches and larger than the 3" versions. It is very similar to the Crew Souvenir Patch above but with some subtle differences in the details.
Patch id:

Space Spin-off Ltd. patch (variant 1)

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Space Spin-Off Ltd.
Distribution: Unknown.
Dimensions: Body 3½" / 90mm
Type: Partially embroidered on blue cloth. Stitched border, cut edge.
Scarcity: Rare.
Value: Unknown.
Notes: This patch was offered to readers of Look-in magazine and Countdown magazine in the UK in 1972, and was part of a set manufactured by Space Spin-Off Ltd. The design appears to be based on the AB Emblem patch, but executed on thin blue cloth (not twill) with a cut edge. This particular variant has a bright blue backing cloth center to the design.
Patch id:

Space Spin-off Ltd. patch (variant 2)

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Space Spin-Off Ltd.
Distribution: Unknown.
Dimensions: Body 3½" / 90mm
Type: Partially embroidered on blue cloth. Stitched border, cut edge.
Scarcity: Rare.
Value: Unknown.
Notes: This patch was offered to readers of Look-in magazine and Countdown magazine in the UK in 1972, and was part of a set manufactured by Space Spin-Off Ltd. The design appears to be based on the AB Emblem patch, but executed on dark blue cloth (not twill) with a cut edge. Unlike variant 1, this version does not have a brighter blue cloth backing in the center.
Patch id:

AB Emblem 3" patch

Worn by crew? No.
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem.
Distribution: Sold as souvenirs.
Dimensions: 3½" x 3" / 90mm x 77mm
Type: Part embroidered on blue twill. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity: Common.
Value: Minimal value.
Notes: This is the small 3" version of the AB Emblem patch. Included here because it is quite similar looking to the Crew Souvenir Patch above. The orange trails are much thicker in this design.
Footnotes

[1] Examples of Crew Patch sales:
      eBay item no. 110157789207 Aug 9, 2007 sold at $42.50 [Buy-it-now]
      Lunar Legacies listing Oct 2 2009 sold at $1595
      eBay item no. 220483885378 September 28, 2009 sold at $1280
      Astro-Auction item no. 61217618918 Jul 25, 2008, sold at $1249.99.
      eBay item no. 120161318366 September 19, 2007 sold at $1183.98
     Goldberg Space Auction lot no. 1145 Jul 10, 2011 sold at $1003
      Goldberg Space Auction lot no. 447 Dec 3, 2011 sold at $1020 [Signed by the crew]

[2] Examples of 'Crew Souvenir Patch' sales:
      Heritage Sep 19, 2007 auction lot 25090 mounted alongside flown flag
      Heritage Sep 19, 2007 auction lot 25091 mounted alongside flown flag
      Heritage Mar 24, 2008 auction lot 58040 FLOWN example from Cunningham's collection
      eBay item no. 180868561485 May 3, 2012 sold at $760.99 (mounted on wooden shield)

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