Sir Donald Bradman’s Baggy Green caps sells for record $460,000 on Australia Day

Sir Donald Bradman’s rare baggy green cap has sold for a record price at an Australia Day auction.

The cricket great’s hat went under the hammer at Lloyds Auctions on Monday afternoon, achieving the highest price ever for a Donald Bradman baggy green.

An anonymous Australian collector successfully bid $460,000 for the piece of Australian sporting memorabilia.

Lloyds Auctions confirmed the cap will remain in Australia and be placed on display at a prominent museum.

The cap was gifted by Bradman to a fellow test cricketer and had been preserved by the same family for more than 75 years, passing through three generations.

The cap had never before been publicly displayed or offered for sale.

Lloyds Auctions Chief Operations Officer Lee Hames said the result reflected both the rarity of the item and Bradman’s status as a national icon.

“This is a genuine piece of Australian cricket history that Sir Donald Bradman personally gifted and that has been preserved by the same family for more than 75 years,” he said.

“Its remarkable condition, combined with Bradman’s status as a national icon, makes it extraordinarily rare to see an item like this enter the public domain.

“That it will remain in Australia and be publicly displayed is a fitting outcome.”

Sir Donald Bradman retired from Test cricket in 1948 with a career batting average of 99.94, a record widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements in world sport.