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Australia Bradman

2001  Twenty Cent reverse 2001  Twenty Cent obverse

2001 Twenty Cent

Mintage:10,000,000
Reverse Designer:Vladimir Gottwald Obverse Designer:Ian Rank-Broadley Size:29mm Weight:11.31g Edge:Reeded Composition:75% Copper
25% Nickel

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Sales History

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This 20 cent coin was released for general circulation by the Royal Australian Mint in 2001 and commemorates cricketing icon, Sir Donald Bradman.

The reverse of this coin was designed by Vladimir Gottwald and features a central image of Bradman in one of his recognisable batting positions. This image is within a circular border and within the outer ring is the legend "1908 SIR DONALD BRADMAN 2001". At the bottom is the denomination "20 CENTS". The obverse of the coin features Ian Rank-Broadley's effigy of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It bears the traditional legend surrounding her portrait "ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2001".

Born in 1908, Donald George Bradman took an interest in sports at a very young age. He was born in Cootamundra in New South Wales and as a youth became passionate about cricket even to the extent that he invented his own training technique that allowed him to practice batting by himself. He did not 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, the first of many in his long career as a test batsman. His career spanned over 25 years and he achieved a test batting average of 99.84. This incredible statistic not only makes him the highest achieving cricketer of all time but also, 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 captained the Australian cricket team on their record-breaking unbeaten tour of England. This Australian team became known as The Invincibles. He brought in great numbers 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 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.

2001 saw the release of a number of coins in commemoration of Sir Donald Bradman; this type was the only one intended purely for general circulation. It was released just a few months after the death of the cricketing icon in order to pay tribute to his life and contributions to the sport. Following the release of this coin was the release of three further Bradman commemorative coins in the same year intended for collectors. There was around 10 million of these business strikes produced and they are therefore still fairly easy to come across.

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