Summary

Australia
Fifty Cent 2005 (AD)
Mint: Royal Australian
Melbourne 2006 (M2006) Commonwealth Games Basketball uncirculated, packaged

Commemorative Fifty cent coin featuring the the 'Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletic Spirit Subgraphic ' for Basketball on the reverse.
Designed by Wojciech Pietranik, the coin is made of Cupro Nickel. It was struck at the Royal Australian Mint, Canberra.

Physical Description

A dodecagonal coin, following the standard pattern for Australian fifty cent pieces.Packaging: A plasticised card, coloured aqua, green and orange, the brand colours of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The coin is held in a plastic enclosure in the right hand side of the card. It is heavily branded, and bears brief numismatic details on the back.

Obverse Description

Head of Queen Elizabeth II. Text: 'ELIZABETH II' from 7 o'clock to 11 o 'clock; 'AUSTRALIA 2006' from 1 o'clock to 5 o'clock.

Reverse Description

Main design is a stylised figure of a basketball player jumping to 'slam dunk' a basketball through a hoop. In the background behind the figure and hoop are two 'freehand' style loops. Text & other designs: The Melbourne 2006 logo is placed next to the rim at 8 o'clock, including the words 'MELBOURNE 2006'. Running clockwise around the rim from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock are the words 'XVIII Commonwealth Games'. The figure '50' is set on the inside of this text in the space between them and the loops

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

These coins are a part of the commemoration of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. A series of over 10 coins will be issued by the Royal Australian Mint, Canberra, of which these are a part.
From 15 to 26 March, 2006, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games will bring together over 4000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth Nations, for competition in 16 sports. A Fifty cent piece bearing the 'Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletic Spirit Subgraphic' for each sport will issued by the Mint. In addition a number of other coins are being issued, including the 5 dollar 'Commonwealth Nations' coin.
The packaging for each coin features the branding for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The ubiquity of this branding on products and events associated with the Games is significant in and of itself, as it is an indication of the holistic approach taken to managing the representation of the games by the organising body, Melbourne 2006.
The associated web-pages from the Royal Australian Mint website (www.ramint.gov.au) add a small amount of information about the individual sports. Copies of these materials will be kept as supplementary information about the objects.
The designs for the sports Fifty cent and 5 dollar coins were created by Wojciech Pietranik. Pietranik also designed the medals for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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