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This is a Sir Donald Bradman commemorative coin, which was released in celebration of his life and sporting achievements just a few months after his death. The coin is of the denomination $5 and was released both individually and as part of a three coin set entitled "SIR DONALD BRADMAN COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM". He is a cricketing and sporting hero that is well known and loved not only within Australia but also around the rest of the world. His incredible achievements make him arguably the best sportsman of all time.
Born in 1908, Donald George Bradman, who would later become Sir Donald and referred to widely as "The Don" took an in interest in sports in a very young age. He was born in Cootamundra in New South Wales and as a youth become passionate about cricket even to the extent that he invented his own training technique that allowed him to practice batting by himself. He didn't have a bat so resorted to the use of a cricket stump instead. His solo cricket game required a golf ball that was hit into a curve in the wall of his house and as it deflected at random angles he would attempt to hit it again. Playing this game incessantly as a boy developed his great hand-eye co-ordination, and quick reactions. (Wikipedia, 2013) By the age of 12 he was playing "real" cricket at school and hit his first century of many to come throughout his long career as a test batsman.Throughout that career that span for over 25 years, he achieved a test batting average of 99.84. This incredible statistic not only makes him the highest achieving cricketer of all time but arguably the highest achieving sportsman of any kind too. His career began before World War II when he began to make and break some incredible records, some of which still stand today. He made a dramatic comeback after the war and he captained the Australian cricket team on their record-breaking unbeaten tour of England.
This Australian team became known as The Invincible's. He brought in great number of spectators, all hoping for a sight of some amazing and entertaining cricket and during the Great Depression, he helped to shape a nation by providing them with a sporting hero and someone to support and celebrate. His achievements on behalf of the nation soon led to him being considered a sporting hero and he was the subject of constant adulation and admiration everywhere he went. He was described by former captain Bill Woodfull as being "worth three batsman to Australia." He was uncomfortable with the amount of attention he received and in his later life, despite staying involved with cricket and administration he became quite aloof and somewhat of a recluse. After his wife died in 1997, he became even more withdrawn and after being hospitalised with pneumonia, he finally died at home peacefully at the age of 92. His memorial service, held at St Peter's Anglican Cathedral, Adelaide was broadcast live on TV and was seen by almost 1.5 million viewers.
This commemorative Bradman coin is a fine silver proof and makes the ideal addition to a collection. This coin had a mintage of 100,000 plus a further 5,000, which were included in the three coin tribute set. Accompanying this coin in the set is a $5 bronze, uncirculated coin and a $20 gold and silver bi-metallic proof coin. Each of the coins feature the cricketers image with his name and the year of his birth and death. The three coin set was released in a green oblong presentation case with a certificate of Authenticity and some information regarding the coins and the life of "The Don." Writing on the outside of the lid includes the title of the set "SIR DONALD BRADMAN COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM" On the inside of the lid is the official stamps of both The Perth Mint and The Royal Australian Mint.
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