NEW YORK: Once nearly thrown out with the trash, a bag that Neil Armstrong used to collect the first ever samples of the moon goes on sale in New York next week, valued at $2-4 million, reports AFP.

Traces of moon dust and small rock are embedded in what is the only artifact from the Apollo 11 mission in private hands, says Sotheby's, who is organizing the sale on July 20, the 48th anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969.

"It's a tremendously rare thing," says Cassandra Hatton, vice president and senior specialist in charge of the sale.

 "Something that was used by the first man, on the first mission to collect the first samples, it's remarkable."

Armstrong collected dust and rock fragments from five different locations on the lunar surface. Given its then unknown nature, the decontamination bag was used to minimize any potential harm the samples might pose.

 After Apollo 11 returned to Earth, nearly all the equipment from the mission was sent to the Smithsonian, the world's largest museum.