apollo 17

This is a secondary type of Apollo 17 patch identified in Cape Kennedy Medals packaging. Still trying to locate a patch photo. 

This is the original, vintage version of the USS Ticonderoga Apollo 17 recovery patch. This patch is 4 3/4" in diameter. Many reproductions exist. 

This is a modern reproduction. The pointy gray stars indicate this was produced by Randy Hunt.

The yellow border is quite distinct. Fair quality embroidery, bare block back.

Vintage issue Apollo 17 patch. This patch is distinct in the extra stars and galaxies that cover the background. There is a very similar 3" version, suspected to be a Cape Kennedy Medals release.

While A-B Emblem produced the crew versions of the patch, their souvenir version diverges from the crew version in a few significant ways. The eagle is light blue and the border is stitched in gray rather than light blue. 

Modern, plastic-backed version of the A-B Emblem Apollo 17 patch. 

While A-B Emblem produced the crew versions of the patch, their souvenir version diverges from the crew version in a few significant ways. The eagle is light blue and the border is stitched in gray rather than light blue. 

Found in both cloth and plastic back versions.

This version lacks the vertical stitching around the galaxy that is found in the vintage version of the A-B Emblem Apollo 17 patch.

This is the classic Swissartex version of the Apollo 17 patch. Fully embroidered with a plastic coated back. The real tell here is the odd nose on Apollo.

Produced by A-B Emblem, the crew version can be identified by the white eagle and light blue border. 

Extremely rare, only 150 of these were issued to the each of the astronauts. While unflown, they bear the hallmarked initials of each astronaut, "HS" Harrison Schmitt, "RE" Ronald Evans, "EC" Eugene Cernan. The outer border is slightly wider than the crew or souvenir versions. Produced by A-B Emblem and most still bear the original sticker on the back. "HS" version pictured below. A star also marks this variety from the souvenir and crew versions.

This is the 3" souvenir version of A-B Emblem's Apollo 17 patch. Full embroidered, both cloth and plastic backed versions.

While A-B Emblem produced the crew versions of the patch, their souvenir version diverges from the crew version in a few significant ways. The eagle is light blue and the border is stitched in gray rather than light blue. 

Found in both cloth and plastic back versions. This version differs slightly from another version of the A-B Emblem Apollo 17 patch with a distinct vertical stitching around the galaxy.

Once again, LionBrothers version of the patch exceeds the quality of the more common A-B Emblem souvenir version. Their trademark hallmark appears as an upside down "17" on the bottom of Apollo's neck. White thread used on the Eagle with a bare cloth back. The light blue border is more faithful to the original, though they used a more appealing radial border. 

This Apollo 17 patch is part of a set of modern reproduction Apollo patches produced by Cape Kennedy Medals. A modern-made 4" version of the Apollo 17 patch.

Could this be the worst Apollo 17 knock off? 4" modern reproduction. The nose appears to be melting off Apollo.

Fully-embroidered. Decent detail for a 3" patch, noticibly in the extra stars and stitching in the galaxies. I prefer this version from the A-B Emblem souvenir version. 

This patch was collected in a set of other 3" patches, also dissimilar from "original" A-B Emblem issues. 

I am going to tag this collection with the "apollounk2" tag. 

However, it appears this may be a Cape Kennedy Medals version, based on the bag another similar patch was found in. Does that mean the rest of "apollounk1" is CKM? Time will tell.

This patch is a member of a set of Apollo patches that, while closely resemble A-B Emblem's 3" set, have several identifiable differences that set them apart. 
 

The original version has white outlines around "Apollo" and "Lunar Team". 

The last patch is a modern version.