UNITED STATES: AE medal, 1929, 33mm medal, DR. HUGO ECKENER around portrait of Eckener, commander of the first round-the-world flight by an airship // airship is shown flying over a map of the world with the words Z127 FIRST AROUND THE WORLD around the border, XF This medal commemorates the first circumnavigation of the world by an airship, the 'Graf Zeppelin' in August 1929. Designed by Ludwig Durr but conceived and operated by Dr. Hugo Eckener, Chairman of the German company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, the rigid airship was built at their works at Friedrichshafen between 1926 and 1928 and was intended to demonstrate the viability of intercontinental commercial air travel. It was the largest airship in the world at that time. Co-sponsored by the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, the round-the-world flight took off from Lakehurst Naval Air Station, New Jersey, on August 8 heading east with Eckener in command. As well as the crew, there were 20 passengers on board and four Hearst staff including the Australian explorer Hubert Wilkins, a cameraman and a British reporter, Lady Grace Drummond-Hay, who became the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air. Having refueled at Friedrichshafen, the flight continued across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to Tokyo, then on to California, landing at Los Angeles to complete the first ever nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean. The final leg from Los Angeles to Lakehurst ended on August 29, three weeks after the airship had departed. The actual flying time was 12 days, 12 hours, and 13 minutes, the fastest circumnavigation of the globe at the time.

Estimate: USD 50-75