Home What is a
Crew Patch? 		Embroidered
Patches 		Beta Cloth
Patches 		Store Lion Brothers
Space Patches
< Projects

Gemini 3

 Gemini 4 >
Gemini 3 photos
Gemini 3 patch on Young's flight jacket

As can be seen in the photos above the Gemini 3 crew did not wear an emroidered mission patch during the flight.

It was only some time after the mission itself that a "Molly Brown" patch, based on the design shown on the right, was created and used by Young and Grissom on their NASA flight suits. The image on the right shows an example on Young's flight jacket as displayed in the Astronaut Hall of Fame (photo courtesy of Andrew Li[1]).

It's not clear how many patches Grissom and Young had made for their own personal use but they were certainly never made available to the general public and are extremely rare today. A couple of nice replicas have been produced over the years, with one still on sale today.

The Crew Souvenir Patch

Patch id:

Gemini 3 Crew Souvenir Patch

Worn by crew? This patch design was worn by the crew on their NASA flight suits some time after the mission. Gemini 3 crew souvenir patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Unknown.
Distribution: Produced exclusively for the crew.
Dimensions: Approx. 3½" / 90mm
Type: Partially embroidered on white twill. Merrowed edge.
Scarcity: Extremely rare.
Value: Examples sold in recent years for $3500, $1159, $661 and $690[2].
Notes: Slightly different coloration to the two known replicas.

Other Embroidered Mission Patches

Patch id:

AB Emblem 2018 Replica patch

Worn by crew? No. AB Emblem 2018 Gemini replica patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem
Distribution: Available from AB Emblem
Dimensions: Approx 3½" / 90mm
Type: Fully embroidered.
Scarcity: Limited production run.
Value: On sale at $?
Notes: A modern replica of the crew patch, produced by AB Emblem in 2018 to go with the other Gemini replica patches produced in 2008 collaboration with Gene Dorr.
Patch id:

John Berry Replica patch

Worn by crew? No. Gemini 3 John Berry replica patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem
Distribution: Sold out.
Dimensions: 3½" / 90mm
Type: Partially embroidered on white twill. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity: Limited edition.
Value: Originally sold for $10.
Notes: A high quality replica of the original "Molly Brown" patch produced as a limited run by John Berry in 2008.
Patch id:

Eagle One Aerospace Replica patch

Worn by crew? No. Eagle One Aerospace replica Gemini 3 patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: Eagle One Aerospace / Cargo Bay Emblems
Distribution: Was available commercially.
Dimensions: Unknown
Type: Fully embroidered.
Scarcity: Uncommon.
Value: Unknown.
Notes: A fairly convincing replica of the original "Molly Brown" patch but unlike the original this has the outer area filled with white thread rather than leaving exposed white twill.
Patch id:

Replica patch of unknown origin

Worn by crew? No. Gemini 3 replica crew souvenir patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem
Distribution: Unknown.
Dimensions: Unknown
Type: Fully embroidered.
Scarcity: Unknown.
Value: Unknown.
Notes: A modern replica of the original "Molly Brown" patch. The label on the back shows it was produced by AB Emblem in July 2015 but it may have been produced for a third party rather than being sold by AB themselves. Like the Eagle One replica this patch has a fully-embroidered white outer area rather than having exposed white twill as per the vintage patch.
Patch id:

AB Emblem souvenir patch

Worn by crew? No. AB Emblem Gemini 3 souvenir patch
Flown? No.
Manufacturer: AB Emblem
Distribution: Sold commercially.
Dimensions: 3" / 75mm
Type: Partially embroidered on black twill. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity: Common.
Value: Minimal value.
Notes: This is the AB Emblem souvenir patch for the mission.
Footnotes

[1] Andrew Li noted that the other patches on Jonh Young's flight jacket on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame were: the Grumman version of the Apollo 10 crew patch, an AB Emblems Apollo 16 patch, and the crew version of the STS-1 patch.

[2] Examples of original Molly Brown patch sales:
    Heritage Auctions April 1, 2009 lot 97 contained an original patch mounted alongside flown items from Gemini 3 [from John Young's collection]
    Bonhams Space Auction Jul 16, 2009 Lot 63 sold at $1159 [from Grissom's estate]
    Lunar Legacies Space Auction May 21, 2011 Lot 53 sold at $661.25 [from Grissom's estate]
    Bonhams Space Auction Apr 26, 2012 Lot 1076 sold at $3,500 [from Grissom's estate]
    RRAuction Nov 29, 2012 Lot 188 sold at $690 [from Grissom's estate]
    Bonhams Space Auction Apr 8, 2014 Lot 124 unsold [from Grissom's estate]
    Bonhams Space Auction Apr 21, 2015 Lot 28 unsold [from Grissom's estate]
    Heritage auction lot 50653 May 10, 2019 sold at $2,000 [from Grissom's estate]
    Bonhams Space Auction Jul 18, 2023 Lot 31 sold at $1,536 [from Grissom's estate]

< Projects [ Back to Top ] Gemini 4 >