Crew Patch reference guide

What is a
Crew Patch?

Embroidered
Patches

Beta Cloth
Patches

Lion Brothers
Space Patches

< Skylab II	Skylab III	ASTP >

	The Skylab III crew wore coveralls with beta cloth emblems on board the USS New Orleans after the flight. As no custom patch was created by the crew either, there is effectively no embroidered crew patch for the Skylab III mission. The one picture I could find of the Skylab III crew wearing an embroidered patch is S73-36766 (right) showing the crew beside a T-38 at Ellington AFB. Although the image I have is very low resolution it looks to be the AB Emblem patch on the shoulder of Ed Gibson's flight suit.

Embroidered Mission Patches


Patch id:	AB Emblem patch

Worn by crew?	Yes, on their flight suits whilst in training.
Flown?	No.

Manufacturer:	AB Emblem
Distribution:	Sold as souvenirs.
Dimensions:	Approx. 4 1/8 x 4¼" / 106 x 109mm
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 Skylab III patch does not have the hallmark of the Lion Brothers patch. Note that the AB Emblem patch was used by NASA on the certificates of appreciation distributed to employees after the mission.


Patch id:	Lion Brothers patch

Worn by crew?	No.
Flown?	No.

Manufacturer:	Lion Brothers
Distribution:	Was available commercially.
Dimensions:	4" / 101mm
Type:	Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge without 'tail' (selvedged).
Scarcity:	Scarce.
Value:	Examples sell for around $15-30.

Notes:	The Lion Brothers Skylab III patch has the first initials of crew's surnames "CGP" incorporated into the design of the tree as a hallmark. Note that a rare plastic backed prototype version of this patch exists and a yellow border color variant (likely a pre-production sample) surfaced in 2017.


Patch id:	Cape Kennedy Medals patch

Worn by crew?	No.
Flown?	No.

Manufacturer:	Cape Kennedy Medals
Distribution:	Was available commercially.
Dimensions:	4" / 101mm
Type:	Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity:	Uncommon.
Value:	Examples sold recently for $71 & $23.49^[1]

Notes:	This patch from Cape Kennedy Medals looks similar to the AB Emblem version but has a black inner band in the rainbow.


Patch id:	Hilborn Hamburger

Worn by crew?	No.
Flown?	No.

Manufacturer:	Hilborn Hamburger
Distribution:	Unknown.
Dimensions:	Approx 3¾ x 4" / 96 x 102mm
Type:	Fully embroidered. Merrowed edge with 'tail'.
Scarcity:	Uncommon.
Value:	An example sold recently for $11.61^[2]

Notes:	This patch from Hilborn Hamburger can be easily identified by the dark blue stitching enclosing the right hand side of the grey circular area behind the human figure.

3" Embroidered Mission Patches


Patch id:	Cape Kennedy Medals 3" souvenir patch [formerly SLIIIUNK3i1]

Worn by crew?	No.
Flown?	No.

Manufacturer:	Cape Kennedy Medals
Distribution:	Unknown
Dimensions:	3" / 76mm
Type:	Partially embroidered on blue twill. Merrowed edge with tail.
Scarcity:	Unknown
Value:	Minimal

Notes:	This is the Cape Kennedy Medals 3" souvenir patch.


Footnotes
[1] Examples of Skylab III Cape Kennedy Medals patch sales: eBay item no. 180796441400 sold Jan 20, 2012 at $70.99 eBay item no. 130838381286 sold Jan 27, 2012 at $23.49 [In original CKM packaging]
[2] Examples of Skylab III Hilborn Hamburger patch sales: eBay item no. 200883409866 sold Jan 27, 2012 at $11.61 eBay item no. 140962937998 sold Apr 30, 2013 at $115.49 [with HH Skylab II patch, both in HH packaging] eBay item no. 261439690768 sold Mar 31, 2014 at $99.75 [buy-it-now] [in HH packaging] eBay item no. 252191643098 sold Dec 24, 2015 at $69.95 [in HH packaging]


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