1958 Munich Air Crash Coin & Stamp Display Gift Set 

The set contains all seven coins issued and dated from the year, namely: halfcrown, florin, Scottish and English shilling, sixpence, threepence and halfpenny (the penny was not issued dated 1958).  It also contains an original 1996 British postage stamp commemorating ‘Football Legends’ and depicting Duncan Edwards in action.

The coins and stamp are housed within a display that is held in a protection case, sized just over 17cm x 12cm.  The display and case are in New/Mint condition.  All of the coins are in Fine (or better) condition and the stamp in unused, Mint condition as issued.

This would make a wonderful and original gift for a Manchester United supporter.

The product can be removed from the protection case, to allow frame mounted display, if so desired.

The Munich air disaster took place on February 6, 1958, when the British European Airways Flight 609 crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from an icy runway at the Munich-Riem airport in Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed at the time as the Busby Babes, along with a number of supporters and journalists. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster.

The European Cup had been contested since 1955, although no English club took part in the very first tournament on account of Football League rules. Manchester United entered the 1956-57 tournament and reached the semi-finals, being knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid; they were thus one of the favourites for the 1957-58 tournament. Domestic league matches were played on Saturdays and European matches were played in midweek, so although air travel was risky at the time, it was the only practical choice if United were to fulfil their league fixtures. Their team was known as the Busby Babes, a reference to their manager Matt Busby and to the average age of the players, which was unusually young.

The club had chartered the aeroplane to fly them home from their European Cup match against the Yugoslavian team Red Star Belgrade, which ended in a 3-3 draw (United won the tie 5-4 on aggregate). The take-off from Belgrade was delayed for an hour as the United player Johnny Berry had lost his passport, then the plane made a scheduled stop in Munich to refuel.

Captain James Thain, the pilot, tried to take off twice, but both attempts were aborted due to engine surging. When a third take off was attempted, at 3:04pm, the plane failed to gain adequate height and crashed into the fence surrounding the airport, then into a house, which was unoccupied at the time.

Although the crash was originally blamed on pilot error, it was subsequently found to have been caused by the build-up of slush towards the ends of the runway, causing deceleration of the aircraft and preventing safe flying speed from being attained. During the take off the aircraft had attained a speed of 117 kt but on entering the slush speed dropped to 105 kt, too slow for flight with not enough runway remaining to abort the take off. Aircraft with tail-wheel undercarriages had not been greatly affected by slush, due to the geometry of these undercarriages in relation to the aircraft's centre of gravity, but newer types, such as the Ambassador, with nosewheel landing-gear and the main wheels behind the centre of gravity were found to be vulnerable. The accident resulted in the instigation of operating limits for the amount of slush build-up permitted on runways.

Despite this conclusion, the West German authorities (who were legally responsible for the state of the airport's runways) took legal action against Captain Thain, claiming he had taken-off without de-icing the wings sufficiently and that responsibility for the accident was his alone, despite several witnesses stating that this was not so. The basis of the German authorities' case relied on a photograph of the aircraft (published in several newspapers) taken shortly before take off, that appeared to show snow on the upper wing surfaces. When the original negative was examined, however, no snow or ice could be seen, the 'snow' having been due to the published pictures being produced from a copy-negative. For some reason the witnesses were not called to the German enquiry and proceedings against Thain dragged on until 1968, when he was finally cleared of any responsibility for the crash. Thain, having been dismissed by BEA shortly after the accident, retired and returned to run his poultry farm in Berkshire. He died of a heart attack at the age of 53, in 1975.

Seven of Manchester United's players died immediately, and Duncan Edwards died from his injuries on 21 February. Two other players had to retire because of their injuries. Matt Busby was seriously injured and had to stay in hospital for some time after the crash, and was read his last rites twice. There was speculation that the club would fold, but a threadbare United team completed the 1957-1958 season, with United's coach Jimmy Murphy standing in as manager. A team largely made up of reserves and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the first match after the disaster. Poignantly, the programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been.

Although the team's league results were poor they reached the final of the F.A. Cup, losing 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers. Busby resumed managerial duties the following season and eventually built a second generation of Busby Babes, including George Best and Denis Law, that went on to win the European Cup a decade after the disaster in 1968, beating Benfica. Crash survivors Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes were two of the other players who lined up in that team.

The Year That Was 1958…

• On 1 February, the presidents of Egypt and Syria sign documents creating a union between them to be known as the United Arab Republic (UAR), with Egypt's President Nasser as head of state • On 28 May, the French government collapses, sparked by protests by French settlers in Algiers at the possibility that the government would negotiate with nationalist rebels. Five days later, Charles de Gaulle returns to form government; he is elected president on 21 December • Mao Zedong instigates the Great Leap Forward, which aims to speed up China's industrial development • Revolution in Iraq brings General Abdul Karim Qassem to power on 14 July • The USS Nautilus is the first submarine to travel under the North Pole ice cap • Modernist architects Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson design the Seagram skyscaper in New York • Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe publishes Things Fall Apart, a novel about an African tribe's reaction to the arrival of colonisers • The first stereo records become available in the US • British playwright Harold Pinter's menacing The Birthday Party is first performed •

Sporting 1958...

• Football League Champions were Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Wolves leaving Preston North End in the runners up spot • Bolton defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the FA Cup Final, with Nat Lofthouse scoring both goals • The Grand National winning horse was ‘Mr What’ • The Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse was ‘Kerstin’ • The Epsom Derby winning horse was ‘Hard Ridden’ • Golf's British Open was won by Peter Thomson • Cambridge won the Boat Race by three ½ lengths over Oxford • F1 Champion was Mike Hawthorn driving for Ferrari • The Wimbledon tennis singles tournament saw victories for Ashley Cooper of Australia (mens) and Althea Gibson of USA (ladies) • American Sport – The first Super Bowl did not take place until 1967 - NBA Championship: St. Louis Hawks 4-2 Boston Celtics – Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees 4-3 Milwaukee Braves (MVP Bob Turley) •