Still in its original packaging this item was a commemorative coin struck for the 75th anniversary of Gallipoli. Simpson and his donkey are featured on it. Lovely piece of Australian history at a very affordable price. Commemorating the historic achievement of Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZACS) that started 25 April 1915, when the ill fated Gallipoli landings started a legend that survives to this day. The design on this Australian coin depicts one of the most famous and touching stories of courage to come out of the entire ill fated Gallipoli campaign in Turkey. It is based apon a sculpture by artist Peter Corlett simply called “Simpson and His Donkey”. As the packs were never hermitically sealed most example are showing a degree of tarnishing as time moves on. Numismatics friends, coin collecting buffs and people interested in Australian heritage should all find this of great interest.
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Design
Design Details:
Weight 28g Â
Diametre 38.74mm Edge – Milled
Bronze composition: 92% copper, 6% aluminium, 2% nickel.
Obverse: Simpson and his donkey by Wojciech Pietranik.
Reverse: Queen Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf.
History
History of Simpson and his donkey:
John (Jack) Simpson Kirkpatrick (6 July 1892–19 May 1915 aged 23) was a stretcher bearer with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign, in World War 1. After Landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, he obtained a donkey and began carrying wounded british Empire soldiers from the frontline to the beach, for evacuation. He continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed. Simpson and his Donkey are a key part of the “Anzac legend”. He joined the army so that he might be sent back to England to fight for his own country.
The “Simpson” legend grew largely from an account of his actions published in a 1916 book, Glorious Deeds of Australasians in the Great War. This was a wartime propaganda effort, and many of its stories of Simpson, supposedly rescuing 300 men and making dashes into no mans land to carry wounded out on his back, are demonstrably untrue. In fact, transporting that many men down to the beach in the three weeks that he was at Gallipoli would have been a physical impossibility, given the time the journey took.However, the stories presented in the book were widely and uncritically accepted by many people, including the authors of some subsequent books on Simpson.
The few contemporary accounts of Simpson at Gallipoli, speak of his bravery and invaluable service in bringing wounded down from the heights above Anzac Cove through Shrapnel and Monash Gullies. However, his donkey service spared him the even more dangerous and arduous work of hauling seriously wounded men back from the front lines on a stretcher.
There have been several petitions over the decades to have Simpson awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) or an Australian Victoria Cross. There is a persistent myth that he was recommended for a VC, but that this was either refused or mishandled by the military bureaucracy. However, there is no documentary evidence that such a recommendation was ever made. The case for Simpson being awarded a VC is based on diary entries by his Commanding Officer that express the hope he would receive either a Distinguished Conduct Medal or VC. However, the officer in question never made a formal recommendation for either of these medals. Simpson’s Mention in Despatches was consistent with the recognition given to other men who performed the same role at Gallipoli.
*All historical information taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.