Apollo 16
When they stepped out of the recovery helicopter onto the deck of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga the Apollo 16 crew were wearing blue jumpsuits with an embroidered mission patch attached.
The same patches are visible on their jumpsuits in photos taken during later during the cake-cutting ceremony onboard the ship. The closeup images above show the details of the patch taken from two of these photos.
Originally I had considered that these patches were almost certainly the regular AB Emblem versions as AB were the offical supplier to NASA at the time and the designs appeared to match the standard AB patch based on the images available to me. Any subtle differences in appearance could be put down to lighting conditions.
However, some time ago keen patch collector Colin Burgess (not the author) came across a bare cloth back Apollo 16 patch which was apparently the regular AB Emblem design but with distinctly darker grey thread used in the details of the background of the patch.
He sent me photos of the Apollo 16 patch on John Young's jacket on display in the Astronaut Hall of Fame, FL which appeared to be of the same style, noted that it matched an Apollo 16 flown patch that was sold by Young at Heritage in 2009, and suggested that the patches worn by the crew on their flight suits after the recovery were of the same design.
Thanks to RetroSpaceImages I now have much clearer high resolution photos of the Apollo 16 crew post-flight to examine, and I am now convinced that Colin was right. The crew were indeed wearing this distinct variant of the Apollo 16 patch on their flight suits.
It's not clear whether this was a distinct early run of the AB Emblem patch distributed to NASA only, or whether, like the Apollo 13 crew patch, this version of the patch was also sold to the public for a certain time before the regular version replaced it.
Whatever the case, I believe that this patch variant qualifies as a Crew Patch for the Apollo 16 mission.
The patch seems to be very uncommon, as I have only seen four examples offered in the best part of a year and three of these came from the same source. That said, perhaps once it is recognized as a crew patch more examples will surface.
One thing collectors need to be wary of is the later plastic-backed AB Emblem patches, some of which use a fairly dark thread in the background which makes them resemble the original crew patches. Examples of this style are fairly common in Willabee & Ward collections.
I have to thank Colin Burgess for researching this patch and bringing it to my attention.
The Crew Patches
The Crew Patch
As well as being worn by the crew on their recovery flight suits, at least one example was flown on the mission itself by John Young as evidenced by an example in a presentation he sold at Heritage in 2009. This version of the AB Emblem patch was also used by NASA on the certificates of appreciation distributed to employees after the mission.
Collectors need to be wary of the later plastic-backed AB Emblem patches, some of which use a fairly dark thread in the background which makes them resemble the original crew patches. Examples of this style are fairly common in Willabee & Ward collections.
A modern Crew Patch
This modern oversize patch, with CMD initials incorporated into the design, was produced by Charlie Duke as a limited edition and offered via his website.
Other Embroidered Mission Patches
AB Emblem Patch
The standard AB Emblem patch is very similar to the one worn by the crew but uses a lighter grey thread in the background giving much less contrast in the crater details.
Lion Brothers Patch
A variant exists with a with distinctly orange thread (apparently a match for the border of the Apollo 11 orange-border variant) instead of the yellow-orange of the usual version.
Note that a rare plastic backed prototype version of the Lion Brothers Apollo 16 patch also exists.
Interestingly, the majority (4 out of 5) of embroidered mission patches flown by John Young on the Apollo 16 mission and subsequently sold at auction are Lion Brothers versions rather than the AB Emblem variant Crew Patch.
Unknown manufacturer patch [as16UNK1]
This patch, from an unknown manufacturer, is quite similar to the AB Emblem version but has distinctively large text - both the APOLLO 16 and the crew names are significantly larger than in the AB version.
Unknown manufacturer patch [as16UNK3]
Similar-enough in appearance to AS16UNK1, particularly in the execution of the eagle, to suggest it's from the same manufacturer. However, this patch has a distinct border added to the blue area at the top of the shield and more noticeably a red border added around the lower edge of the shield. This latter feature is often used to spot the Lion Brothers Apollo 16 patch. The other standout feature of this patch is the vastly extended crew names at the bottom.
GEMSCO oversize patch [as16UNK2]
This unusual oversize vintage Apollo 16 patch (previously identified as AS16UNK2) measures 5" across and is also missing the crew names at the bottom. A recent find mounted on its original display card proved that this was manufactured by GEMSCO, like the oversize Apollo 14 patch. These patches are all associated with the U.S. Navy recovery operations.
Space Spin-Off Ltd. patch
This patch was offered to readers of Look-in magazine and Countdown magazine in the UK in April 1972, and was part of a set manufactured by Space Spin-Off Ltd. The design is executed on thin blue cloth (not twill) with a cut edge.
3" Embroidered Mission Patches
Footnotes
[1] Examples of flown patches from Apollo 16:
Heritage Spring 2009 Space Auction lot no. 41126 Apr 1, 2009 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch.
Heritage auction lot 41139 Oct 8 2009 sold FLOWN Apollo 16 & STS-1 Crew Patches [Young]
Heritage Spring 2010 Space Auction lot no. 41159 Apr 21, 2010 sold at $1,912 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch.
Heritage Auction lot no. 41149 sold Jun 3, 2011 at $1553.50 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch
Heritage auction lot 40271 Nov 3 2013 sold at $2500 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch [Young]
Heritage auction lot 50792 May 10, 2019 sold at $2,500 FLOWN Crew patch [Young]
Heritage auction lot 50793 May 10, 2019 sold at $2,750 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch [Young]
Sothebys Space Auction lot 195 Jul 20, 2019 sold at $2,750 FLOWN Crew patch [Young]
Sothebys Space Auction lot 196 Jul 20, 2019 sold at $2,750 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch [Young]
Heritage Auctions lot 50469 Nov 14, 2019 sold at $2,250 FLOWN Lion Brothers patch [Young]
RR Auction lot 8347 Apr 16, 2020 sold at $1,818.75 FLOWN Crew patch [Young]
Heritage Space Auction lot 50061 Jun 5, 2020 sold at $2,125 FLOWN Crew Patch [Young]
Heritage Space Auction lot 50062 Jun 5, 2020 sold at $2,000 FLOWN Lion Brothers Patch [Young]
Heritage Space Auction lot 50287 Nov 21, 2020 sold at $2,062.50 FLOWN Crew Patch [Young]
Heritage Space Auction lot 50110 Nov 21, 2020 sold at $2,250 FLOWN Crew Patch [Young]
Lunar Legacies Auction lot no. 327 Jan 23, 2021 sold at $146.40
Heritage Auction lot 50395 Nov 12, 2021 sold at $5,750 FLOWN LB patch with flown flag
Heritage Auction lot 50261 Jun 2, 2022 sold at $2,250 FLOWN Crew patch [Young]
Heritage Auction Dec 6, 2024 Lot 50084 sold at $2,750 [FLOWN by Young]
[2] Examples of Apollo 16 crew patch sales:
eBay item no. 380747735815 Oct 17, 2013 - 2 examples in large patch lot
eBay item no. 281197681457 Nov 3, 2013 sold at $39 (one of above examples resold with other patches)
eBay item no. 370938536041 Nov 10, 2013 sold at $19.99 [buy-it-now] (tail trimmed away)
eBay item no. 221316703691 Nov 14, 2013 sold at $4.99 [buy-it-now] (from same source as first 2 examples)
eBay item no. 380846935078 Feb 27, 2014 sold at $17.95 (with condition issues, in lot with other patches)
eBay item no. 281278984571 Mar 9, 2014 sold at $20.50 (with condition issues, resale of above patch)
eBay item no. 171310537834 May 1, 2014 sold at $51.22 (with other patches)
eBay item no. 141493586886 Dec 2, 2014 sold at $15 (buy-it-now, lot of patches)
eBay item no. 281533469997 Dec 19, 2014 sold at $24.99
eBay item no. 171951691504 Oct 5, 2015 sold at $208.05 [on presentation certificate]
Lunar Legacies Auction lot no. 345 Nov 14, 2015 sold at $238
eBay item no. 252259598029 Jan 20, 2016 sold at $150 [buy-it-now]
eBay item no. 311844445271 Apr 17, 2017 sold at $49.40
Space Walk of Fame Charity Auction lot no. 98 Jun 17, 2017 sold at $900
eBay item no. 302382775483 Jul 20, 2017 sold at $77.59
Space Walk of Fame Charity Auction lot no. 318 Nov 18, 2017 sold at $780
eBay item no. 401491927870 Feb 18, 2018 sold at $257.00
RRAuction Lot 6554 Apr 19, 2018 sold at $245 with presentation letter
eBay item no. 263735310682 Jun 4, 2018 sold at $208.08
Lunar Legacies lot no. 378 Feb 2, 2019 sold at $61
eBay item no. 202648408201 Apr 7, 2019 sold at $175 [buy-it-now]
eBay item no. 264291958878 Apr 27, 2019 sold at $81
eBay item no. 163704931903 Jun 3, 2019 sold at $47.59
eBay item no. 202766493636 Sep 7, 2019 sold at $122.50
eBay item no. 333608158261 May 30, 2020 sold at $87.10
American Space Museum & Space Walk of Fame auction lot 145 Apr 10, 2021 sold at $60
Heritage Space Auction lot 50069 May 22, 2021 sold with multiple crew patches from Chris Kraft collection
[3] Examples of Apollo 16 [AS16UNK1] sales:
eBay item no. 220800959034 Jun 24, 2011 sold at $103.05
eBay item no. 280826185346 Feb 19, 2012 sold at $67
eBay item no. 130674704859 Apr 8, 2012 sold at $16.05
eBay item no. 140885668840 Nov 20, 2012 sold at $19.95
eBay item no. 390513654589 Dec 29, 2012 sold at $9.99
eBay item no. 121102001365 May 5, 2013 sold at $39.99
eBay item no. 130961830451 Aug 11, 2013 sold at $22.50
eBay item no. 261371142807 Jan 15, 2014 sold at $11.99
eBay item no. 141162795279 Jan 19, 2014 sold at $14.50
eBay item no. 111486951583 Oct 23, 2014 sold at $6.66
[5] Examples of Apollo 16 [AS16UNK3] sales:
eBay item no. 220913246346 Dec 18, 2011 sold at $78 [lot of patches]
eBay item no. 140737081693 Apr 15, 2012 sold at $134.49
[6] Examples of Apollo 16 GEMSCO oversize patch sales:
eBay item no. 380808674542 Jan 2, 2014 sold at $19.99 (or lower offer)
eBay item no. 390878948627 Jul 11, 2014 sold at $102.52
eBay item no. 161371929823 Jul 26, 2014 sold at $39.99 [badly warped]
eBay item no. 111600027937 Feb 22, 2015 sold at $119.80
eBay item no. 392237444622 Feb 17, 2019 sold at $68.81
eBay item no. 233214348144 May 6, 2019 sold at $65.12
eBay item no. 392310020830 Jun 11, 2019 sold at $23.49
eBay item no. 124145175235 Apr 8, 2020 sold at $59.90
eBay item no. 202907374716 Apr 27, 2020 sold at $72
[7] Examples of Apollo 16 Space Spin-Off Ltd. sales:
eBay item no. 130674707179 Apr 8, 2012 sold at $66.99
eBay item no. 361037794323 Sep 7, 2014 sold at $66.00
eBay item no. 141559739260 Feb 6, 2015 sold at $45.00
eBay item no. 222844438339 Feb 24, 2018 sold at $34.95
eBay item no. 273941433017 Jul 28, 2019 sold at $45