A miniature USSR flag that American astronaut Buzz Aldrin took on the Apollo 11 flight to the Moon in July 1969 was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $102,400. This is evidenced by data on the auction house’s official website.

The final sale price of the lot significantly exceeded experts’ preliminary estimates. The flag, measuring about 10 by 15 cm, was kept in Aldrin’s personal preference kit aboard the Columbia command module.

As Sotheby’s clarified, the astronaut included the Soviet symbol in his inventory as a diplomatic gesture and a sign that the Moon landing was an achievement of all humankind.