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RARE U.S. ARMY LEICA KS15-4 SETcirca 1969, comprising Leica M2 body, chrome finish, serial number 1163 358, with body cap; together with a Leitz Canada Elmarit 1:2.8/135 lens with goggles, numbered 2788764, with front and rear caps, Leitz Wetzlar Summicron DR dual range 1:2/50 lens with goggles, serial number 2307187, Leica light meter, numbered 73723, lens hood, Leitz US DEPT of ARMY REPAIR manual covering all aspects of the KS15-4 set, Leitz flash, and a Leitz cable release, etc, all contained within leather case with inscription to case reading 'MFR. 35643 CASE, PHOTO EQUIPMENT P/N 14803 PART OF: KS-15 (4) CONTRACT: F42600-71-C-0974 FSN: 6760-823-9699 U.S.'Note: This set was serviced by Don Goldberg of D.A.G. Camera Repair (Oregon WI 53575) in 2012. The Leica M2 was cleaned and adjusted for good working order. Noted that the camera did not require a 100% overall. The 2nd image in the R/F had very minor spots that could not be removed. The inner lens elements of the Leitz Summicron lens was cleaned, some fogging noted. The inner lens and 'bugeyes' of the Leica Elmarit lens was corrected and lens cleaned.

A 19th century Nepalese Snider Artillery Carbine, found in Afghanistan and thought to be a Gurkha Army rifle, the walnut stock with chequered fore-end, 67.5cm barrel with ram rod under and brass trigger guard and mounts, 116cm overall

Three Officer's uniforms, Royal Army Ordnance Corp dress and parade uniforms, together with an East Yorkshire Regiment uniform and cap with medal ribbons, all complete with trousers (3)

Two Royal Army Ordnance Corp Officer's battle dress uniforms, 1949 pattern size 12 with 3 pairs of trousers sizes 2x11 and 14A plus a 1949 pattern battle dress jacket with Home Guard patches (6)

A British Army Royal Ordnance Corp great coat, size 11 dated 1953

Small quantity of card mounted badges, including RCT warrant officers and RLC Warrant officers, three RLC rifle association medals, two Territorial army miniatures and a George V silver jubilee medallion, belt and lanyard

Over twenty military badges, including WW2 tank corps, South Staffordshire regiment, Medical Corps, East Yorkshire regiment, WWI trench art Turkish coin brooch, Army Service Corps, sweetheart brooches etc

A pair of Bausch and Lomb 6x30 Military Stereo binoculars, in calf leather carrying case. These binoculars belonged to Major Harry James George Mocock who served in both the RAOC and REME in both WWI and WW2 joining the army by falsely declaring an earlier birth date

Scott Lt.Cdr.Peter; The Battle of The Narrow Seas 1945, Sparrow W. Shaw: The Fifth Army in March 1918. 1921; and a Short History of the Royal Tank Corps, 1936 (3)

A table top cabinet, containing various military items, including RAMC belt, army olive drab jersey, various folding maps, two pieces of WW2 shrapnel etc

Seven shield mounted military crests, four in boxes, two cased Millennium shooting medals, two warrant officer wrist-band badges, an Army Rifle Association commemorative glass dish, boxed, and two other items

AN EARLY 20TH. CENTURY LEATHER SHOT GUN CARTRIDGE MAGAZINE WITH ARMY AND NAVY TRADE LABEL. (WIDTH 40 CMS.).

A WW2 German Heer (Army) Officer's dagger by Elckhorn Solingen, the orange grip lacking wire binding, with dress knot in sheath with belt attachments, overall length 39.5cm

A Victorian ebonised oak miniature cabinet with a pair of carved doors enclosing two short and three long drawers beneath a broken arch pediment divided by an urn, labelled Army & Navy maker, 61cm high and a miniature travel trunk, the hinged cover enclosing a drawer, metal mounts and hinges, 38cm wide (2)

A group of four WW2 medals, awarded to Merchant Navy seaman Gordon Marshall comprising War Medal 1939-45, Atlantic, Italy and 1939-45 Stars in issue box with slip and Merchant Navy Identity Card; a group of four WW2 medals awarded to George E. Grey RASC comprising War Medal 1939-45, Africa Star with 1st Army clasp, Italy and 1939-45 Stars in issue box with slip, dog tags, badges and associated paperwork; and two other WW2 Stars

A Great War group of four, Military Medal G.V.R. to 81205 SJT: H. V. Tombs D.51/BDE: R.F.A., 1914-1915 Star to 81205 SJT: H.V. Tombs R.F.A., War Medal to 2. Lieut. H.V. Tombs and Victory to 2 Lieut. H.V. Tombs, with The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. and 1939-45 Defence Medal, together with the miniatures. Sold with a quantity of paperwork, a photograph of "D" battery and two silver handled presentation trophies, Birmingham 1907 and London 1920, weight combined 37oz.Henry Victor “Harry” Tombs was born on the 23rd October 1894 and raised at 92 High Street Scunthorpe.  He was an assistant draper when he enlisted on the 15th August 1914 in Sheffield two weeks after war was declared, and joined the Royal Field Artillery.  One brother, Albert Arthur, joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper and another, Ernest William, the Royal Garrison Artillery as a gunner.  All three survived the war.Harry rose through the ranks to become a sergeant, and would have operated 13 and 18 pounder Howitzer guns, initially as support to the cavalry.  He was awarded his Military Medal for his action in saving an ammunition dump and his fellow soldiers when a German incendiary device landed in an ammunition dump and Harry leaped in and removed it before it exploded, whilst under enemy fire.On the 22nd February 1918 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, later becoming a full lieutenant on the 23rd August 1919.  After the war ended he continued as part of the Army of Occupation on the Rhine as D Battery of the 168th Brigade of the 32nd (Lancashire) Division.  Whilst there he continued his leadership skills by becoming the Sports Officer and his Battery won the Yorkshire Artillery Challenge Cup and associated silver medal included with this lot in Bonn and the Yorkshire Artillery Challenge Cup for Cross Country Running.Post war he returned home to Scunthorpe and became an Alderman.  During World War II he was Air Raid Precaution (A.R.P.) controller for Scunthorpe and was awarded an O.B.E. in the 1944/45 New Years Honours List.  Post war he became a Justice of the Peace (J.P).

Various makers - two Benbros military models, comprising Mobile Radar A103 and Mobile Searchlight A104, both boxed, Crescent 25-pounder field gun No.1250, boxed, four unboxed Dinky army vehicles including military ambulance, army wagon etc, three small Dinky aeroplanes etc

Dinky - twelve unboxed and playworn models, including Fire Engine No.955, Police Accident Unit and Fire Service transit vans, two Atlantean buses, military ambulance and army wagon etc and an Atlas fire engine in associated box (13)

A Print of Edwardian VIII, in army uniform, together with a print after T.Gainsborough "Blue Boy" engraved by A.Hogg signed lower right. (2)

An Edwardian Postcard Album, often with First World War, and social history themes, navy ships and personnel, young royalty, and fascinating A.G. Taylors "Reality Series" Church Army home. Together with a small quantity of cigarette and trade cards- Weetabix 3-D noted.

G.B. Royal Mail Mint Presentation Packs, 2007-2008, in four albums. Neatly arranged in chronological order, with mini-sheets, and Prestige Booklets - Army Uniforms, making of the Machin, World of Invention, Regional Definitive's, R.A.F Uniforms and James Bond with corresponding sets of P.H.Q. cards. Face value over £340.

Kingdom of Pontos, Mithradates VI Eupator AV Stater. Bithyno-Pontic year 223, intercalary month 13 = October 74 BC. Diademed head right / Stag grazing left; BAΣIΛEΩΣ above, MIΘPAΔATOY / EYΠATOPOΣ in two lines below; to left, star-in-crescent above ΓKΣ (year); two monograms to right, IΓ (month 13) in exergue; all within Dionysiac wreath of ivy and fruit. Unpublished in the standard references; Roma VII, 758 (this coin); CNG 96, 372 (same dies); cf. for date: Callataÿ 1997, tetradrachms D56-59. 8.41g, 21mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Unpublished; one of only two known a coin of great numismatic importance. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 758. A beautifully idealized portrait of the ageing king, the obverse die of this coin was also used to strike a previously unrecorded stater dated with the intercalary month IB (i.e., September 74 BC; see CNG 93, 22 May 2013, lot 339). This places this unique coin circa October 74 BC, making it one of the very latest gold staters of Mithradates of which we are currently aware. The facts that the obverse die was reused and the paucity of surviving specimens both suggest that the issue was a small one. Additionally, this coin stands out for having been issued more than ten years after the main series of staters had ended in 85 BC. This revival of gold issues by Mithradates can only be explained by the events unfolding at the time: the death of Nikomedes IV of Bithynia in 75 left no heirs to the kingdom, and instead bequeathed the state to Rome. Faced with the prospect of losing a coveted territory to his old enemy who would not share a border with his own lands, Mithradates began renewed preparations for war. This coin was struck on the very eve of Mithradates’ invasion of the new Roman province of Bithynia and the start of the Third Mithradatic War (73-63 BC). This conflict would result in great devastation being wrought on Pontos, betrayal on the part of Mithradates’ son Machares who allied himself with Rome, and rebellion by another son Pharnakes (see lot 765) who assumed control of the army and forced his father to commit suicide. Armenia, which under Tigranes ‘the Great’ had supported Mithradates in his war on Rome, suffered several heavy defeats and the loss of its capital; it ended the war as a client state of Rome. Pontos would cease to exist as a kingdom, and would be declared to be a Roman province by a victorious Pompey. Intercalation - the inserting of months, days, even hours and seconds - into the calendar is a practice which aligns the calendar in use with the observable seasons or phases of the moon. There are many recorded instances of intercalation from classical antiquity, and the Romans used it extensively until Julius Caesar reformed the Roman Calendar of 355 days replacing it with his own Julian Calendar of 365.25 days, which took effect in 45 BC.

Carinus, as Caesar, AV Aureus. Siscia, AD 282. M AVR CARINVS NOB CAES, laureate and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIA AVG, Victory standing left on banded globe, holding laurel wreath in outstretched right hand and palm frond over left shoulder. RIC -, cf. 190E (Victory carrying trophy); cf. Cohen 139 (same); Sear 12287 (this coin); Calicó 4372 (this coin). 4.84 gm, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection; Ex McLendon Collection, Christie’s New York, 12 June 1993, lot 191. Raised to the rank of Caesar in the West in AD 282 under his father Carus, who had been proclaimed emperor after the assassination of the emperor Probus, Carinus immediately set out on campaign against the Germanic Quadi tribes whom he met with some success. Returning to Rome in early 283, he celebrated a triumph and was proclaimed Augustus, and thus began his joint rule with his father. Meanwhile his brother Numerian, also Caesar, was on campaign with their father against the Sassanid Persians in the East. It was here that Carus died in July or August 283, but not before having made significant gains against the Sassanids under Bahram II: he had taken the capital Ctesiphon, crossed the River Tigris and was marching his troops further into Mesopotamia. Carus’ death is most likely attributable to natural causes (an unknown illness, though some sources claim it was a lightning strike), and Numerian succeeded him as Augustus unchallenged. The army however wished to return to the West, and Numerian was unable to do more than acquiesce. As the column proceeded slowly back toward Roman territory Numerian himself was taken ill and died under suspicious circumstances - the general Diocletian was proclaimed emperor by the troops and accepted the purple on a hill outside Nicomedia. Upon hearing the news, Carinus marched his army eastwards and the two met in Moesia at the Battle of the Margus River. Again, accounts differ as to the progress of the battle: some say that Carinus had the upper hand until he was assassinated by a tribune whose wife he had seduced, while others suggest that the battle was a complete victory for Diocletian and that Carinus’ army deserted him. Following the victory, both the eastern and western armies recognised Diocletian as sole emperor, and he marched unopposed on Rome. Struck in late 282 when Carinus still held the rank of Caesar, this aureus depicts him in military gear on the obverse, while the reverse type depicts the Victoriola, the cult statue of Victory standing on a globe. It symbolises the power and majesty conferred on an emperor by victory in battle, and is often shown on later reverse types being conferred on the emperor by Jupiter or another deity. Used in this context, it appears to attest to a recent military victory, perhaps Carinus’ own successes against the Germanic tribes. That this coin was struck shortly before Carinus was raised to the rank of Augustus might partly explain its relative rarity, however the Damnatio Memoriae which Diocletian wrought on Carinus after his death would also bear on the scarcity of gold coins in his name.

Gallienus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 260-268. GALLIENVS AVG, head left, crowned with reeds / FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing facing, head left, holding two standards. RIC 38 var. (rev. legend); Calicó 3494-5 var. (same). 3.66g, 20mm, 1h. Mint State. A handsome portrait of Gallienus in fine style. Extremely Rare. Gallienus was named Caesar at the same time his father Valerian became emperor in AD 253. Within a month, he was promoted to the rank of Augustus and joint ruler. The responsibility for the western provinces was handed to him the following year as Valerian marched east to campaign against the Persian army. Gallienus proceeded to take military action to secure the Rhine and Danube frontiers from German attacks. His efforts were successful and he earned the title ‘Germanicus Maximus’ five times between 255 and 258, though he lost his eldest son during a campaign in the Danube early in 258. This loss was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events to befall the western emperor. Valerian was captured by the Persian king Shapur I in 260, significantly weakening Gallienus’ position and leaving a power vacuum in the east. The first to take advantage was Ingenuus, governor of Pannonia and Moesia, who was proclaimed emperor at Sirmium by the troops under his command but defeated soon after by Gallienus’ general Aureolus. Rebellion also broke out on the Danube frontier when Regalianus proclaimed himself emperor, requiring prompt and successful action from Gallienus. A further uprising occurred in 260, when Macrianus and Quietus were proclaimed joint emperors, making Antioch their capital with widespread support in the Eastern provinces. Macrianus marched against Gallienus but was killed by Aureolus in 261, while Quietus was murdered in Emesa where he was taking refuge. The following year saw Aureolus revolt, although he was swiftly convinced to make peace. Whilst the uprisings in the east had been successfully quelled, it had cost Gallienus dearly in the West. By the end of 261, Postumus had taken control of Gaul, Britain and Spain and assumed the title of Augustus, establishing an independent empire which would survive for almost 15 years. Unable to successfully challenge the Gallic Empire led by Postumus, Gallienus spent the following years dealing with minor invasions and rebellions until the Goths and the Heruli launched a large scale invasion of the Balkans in 268. Leaving Aureolus in charge at Milan, Gallienus advanced to counter the invasion, although he was unable to prevent the sacking of Athens before defeating the invaders at Naissus. Taking advantage of the Gothic War, Aureolus defected to Postumus, prompting Gallienus to return to Italy in September 268, where he defeated Aureolus at Pontirolo and laid siege to him at Milan. Gallienus was unable to bring matters to a decisive conclusion for he was murdered in his camp by the commander of his Dalmatian cavalry. The reverse legend of this beautiful aureus ironically bears the legend ‘loyalty of the soldiers’ and depicts Fides, the Roman goddess of trust and loyalty. Many reverse types depicting Fides were minted after 260 and Mark Hebblewhite (The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395, 2016) has suggested this was in response to the uprisings of 260, reflecting Gallienus’ desire to show the army that he trusted in their continued support. Indeed, Gallienus had barred senators from taking military office after some had shown disloyalty in their support of the usurpers, and increasingly relied on the support of his existing officers.

Kingdom of Lydia, Kroisos AV Stater. Heavy series. Sardes, circa 564/53-550/39 BC. Confronted foreparts of lion and bull / Two incuse squares of unequal size. Berk 2; Le Rider, Naissance, pl. V, 2; Traité I 396; BMC 30; Boston MFA 2068–9; Gulbenkian 756. 10.79g, 19mm. Extremely Fine. Rare. Kroisos is credited with issuing the first true gold coins with a standardised purity for general circulation. The series began on a ‘heavy’ standard, with gold and silver staters of equal weight, around 10.6-10.7 grams, which was later reduced to about 8.17 grams for the gold. Studies have shown that coins of both standards circulated together, but that the heavy standard was only used for a relatively short time compared to the light standard, which continued to be used into the Persian period. All of the coins of Kroisos feature without variation his heraldic badge, the confronted heads of a lion and a bull, both ancient symbols of power. The badge itself doubtless stems from the ubiquitous and persistent theme of the lion-bull combat scene, which may be interpreted as a metaphor for divinely inspired heroic triumph. Indeed, divinely inspired heroic triumph was exactly what Kroisos expected when, encouraged by a prediction by the Delphic Oracle that if he attacked Persia he would destroy a great empire, Kroisos made his preparations for war with Cyrus the Great. The war resulted in defeat for Kroisos; his numerically superior army was smashed, and the capital Sardes was captured along with Kroisos and his family, who were immolated on the orders of Cyrus. Lydia became a satrapy of the Persian Empire, though it continued to mint coins in the traditional types, and indeed the legendary wealth of Kroisos was used by Cyrus to form the basis of a new Persian gold standard currency.

Sasanian Kings, Shapur I AV Dinar. Ctesiphon, AD 260-272. Draped bust right, wearing diadem and mural crown surmounted by a korymbos; one pellet above and two below diadem ties / Fire-altar flanked by two regal attendants wearing mural crowns, symbol to left of flames. SNS type IIc/1b. Göbl type I/1. 7.51g, 21mm, 3h. Mint State. Rare. In AD 253 Shapur met and annihilated a Roman army of 60,000 at the Battle of Barbalissos, and proceeded then to burn and ravage the Roman province of Syria. Armenia was conquered, and Georgia submitted to Sasanian control. With his northern borders secure, Shapur then led an army which penetrated deep into Syria, plundering all the way to Antioch which quickly fell to his forces. The Roman counter-offensive under emperor Valerian was slow, but by 257 Antioch had been recovered and the province of Syria returned to Roman control. Shapur's speedy retreat caused the Romans to launch a hasty pursuit of the Sasanians all the way to Edessa, where they were severely defeated by the Persians, and Valerian along with the survivors of his army were led away into captivity. The defeat and capture of Valerian surely marks the greatest achievement in the reign of Shapur, who is also called 'the Great', and the submission of Valerian is commemorated in a mural at Naqsh-e Rustam, which shows the emperor bending the knee before Shapur on horseback. Valerian's army was sent to Bishapur, and the soldiers were used in engineering and development works, such as the Band-e Kaisar (Caesar's dam) near the ancient city of Susa.

Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus with P. Servilius Casca Longus AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with the army (western Asia Minor or northern Greece), summer - autumn 42 BC. CASCA LONGVS, laureate bust of Neptune right, trident below / BRVTVS IMP, Victory in long tunic walking to right, palm branch over left shoulder and breaking diadem with both hands, broken sceptre on ground. Crawford 507/2; CRI 212; RSC 3; Sydenham 1298; Kestner 3779; BMCRR East 63-65. 3.90g, 19mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Sound, lustrous metal. A superb example.

Carthaginian Spain, Barcid Dominion AV Stater. Uncertain mint, circa 229-221 BC. Laureate bust of Nike left, wearing earring and necklace / Horse prancing to right. Villaronga, Las monedas hispano-cartaginese, Barcelona 1973, 64 = Jenkins-Lewis 454 = CNH 20 = ACIP 560 = Hunter collection III, p. 608, 1 ‘Micipsa’ (same dies). 7.53g, 17mm, 11h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, apparently only the second specimen known and the only one in private hands. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 84, 20 May 2015, lot 540. In 237 Hamilcar Barca, after losing the First Punic War against Rome but having won the Mercenary Revolt against the Libyans, turned his attention to Spain and disembarked at Gadir with a Carthaginian army which according to Polybios was to "re-establish Carthaginian authority in Iberia" (Histories, 2.1.6). He proceeded to conquer southern and south-eastern Spain and the mining production of Baetica and the Sierra Morena before dying in battle in 229 at Heliké (Elche?). Hamilcar was succeeded by his son-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair who expanded the new province by skilful diplomacy and consolidated it with the foundation of Akra Leuka (Alicante) and Qart Hadasht (‘New Carthage’, the Latin: Carthago Nova), originally named Mastia, as his capital by 228. After his untimely death at Heliké in 221 he was succeeded by Hannibal, the oldest son of Hamilcar Barca, and his second son Hasdrubal.

Carausius BI Radiate. London, March - October AD 287. [VIRTVS CAR]AVSI, helmeted, radiate and cuirassed bust left, holding spear and shield / LIBERALITAS AVG, Carausius seated left on platform, holding branch; behind him, Liberalitas standing left holding tesserae and cornucopiae; to left, citizen ascending steps; C in exergue. RIC 278; Webb 326. 3.78g, 25mm, 6h. Very Fine. Very Rare. Early attributions of the C mintmark to Clausentum, Calleva, Camulodunum or for the fleet (Classiensis), are now considered unlikely since many issues share the same sequence marks such as S-P or S-C as those coins struck at the mint of London. Thus, the C mintmark (for Caesar?) may indicate the existence of a separate officina at the London mint issuing coins for distribution to civil administrators and the army.

Michael II AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 820/1-822. * MIX AHL ЬASILE', crowned facing bust, wearing slight beard and chlamys, and holding akakia and cross potent / MIXAH L ЬASILEЧ' E, crowned facing bust, wearing slight beard and loros, and holding cruciform sceptre and globus cruciger. DOC 1 (same obv. die); Füeg 1.A (same dies); Sear 1639. 4.36g, 21mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; only two other examples on CoinArchives. Born into a humble family of professional peasant-soldiers, Michael was born in 770 in Amorium, Phrygia. As a soldier, he rose quickly to high rank, becoming a close aide to the general Bardanes Tourkos, along with his colleagues and future antagonists Leo the Armenian and Thomas the Slav. Both he and Leo married daughters of Bardanes, though both renounced the general after he rebelled against the emperor Nicephorus I in 803 and were rewarded with higher military positions. Following the death in battle of the emperor Nicephorus against Khan Krum of Bulgaria, and the abdication of his severely wounded son Stauracius, the throne was passed to Michael I Rhangabe. The new emperor was unable to counter the Bulgarian threat, and under his leadership the progress of the war went from bad to worse, with the Imperial army suffering a devastating defeat at Versinikia. Leo, with the assistance of Michael the Amorian, was able to force the emperor to abdicate in his favour. Thus Leo became emperor and Michael the Amorian and Thomas the Slav were raised still higher in standing. Yet the relationship between Leo and his colleague Michael soon soured; Michael was imprisoned on suspicion of conspiracy. Whether or not Michael was indeed conspiring to usurp the throne before his imprisonment, when faced with his impending execution he arranged Leo's assassination from his prison cell. The deed was carried out in the chapel of St. Stephen on Christmas of 820, and Michael the Amorian was crowned Michael II with the prison irons still around his legs. Immediately forced to deal with his former colleague Thomas the Slav who had set himself up as a rival emperor, Michael was forced to call upon the aid of Omurtag of Bulgaria to defeat Thomas' forces, whose surrender he eventually obtained in October of 823. With a severely weakened army, Michael was thus unable to prevent the conquest of Crete in 824 by a relatively small force of Arabs, and failed in a subsequent attempt to retake it in 826. The following year, the Muslim conquest of Sicily began, an assault Michael was powerless to stop. Despite these serious failures, Michael established a stable dynasty and his direct descendants would rule the empire for more than two centuries, inaugurating the Byzantine renaissance of the 9th and 10th centuries.

Marc Antony Legionary AR Denarius. Military mint moving with Antony, autumn 32 - spring 31 BC. ANT•AVG III•VIR•R•P•C, praetorian galley to right / Aquila between two signa; LEG XXIII across fields. Crawford 544/39; CRI 383; RSC 60; Sydenham 1246; BMCRR East 219. 3.57g, 19mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine. Rare. XXIII was the highest number securely known to have been given to a legion within Marc Antony’s order of battle. This legion appears to have been disbanded after Actium, as XXIII was never again employed as a legionary numeration following Augustus’ reorganisation of the Roman army, in which he consolidated and decreased the total number of serving legions. However, the following numerations of legions unknown to history have been noted on fleet denarii by Sydenham in Roman Republican Coinage, 1952. p. 196, nos. 1247-1253: XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX and XXX; A. Banti and L. Simonetti, in Corpus Nummorum Romanorum II, pp. 38-41, no. 102-8) record denarii for legions: LEG XXIV (= Turin, Fava 1964, pl. 19, 3); LEG XXV (= Hamburger sale 32, 1933, 547); LEG XXVI (= Babelon 104); LEG XXVII (Paris, BnF); LEG XXVIII (= Babelon 143); LEG XXIX (= Paris, BnF); LEG XXX (= BMCRR II, pl. 116, 12; Brunacci collection, Santamaria sale 1958, 797 [struck over a denarius of Julius Caesar with P. Sepullius Macer]; Ratto sale 1924, 1392). The following lot is an unpublished and apparently unique denarius bearing the Legion number XXXIII, which strengthens the case for a re-evaluation of the denarii recorded by Sydenham and Banti-Simonetti.

Austria. Holy Roman Empire, Charles V (Emperor, 1519-1556) AV Dukat Klippe. Siege of Vienna issue, dated 1529. Crowned and armoured bust of Ferdinand I (Archduke of Austria, 1521-1564) right; 15-Z9 flanking bust; TVRK • BLE/GERT • WI/: EN : ; arabesques at cardinal points / Long cross pattée; in quarters at angles, coats-of-arms of Niederösterreich, Castile, Hungary, and Bohemia; each shield surmounted by an arabesque. Brause-Mansfeld pl. XLII, 9; Markl 278; Mailliet 2²; Friedberg 22. 3.53g, 23mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Struck on a slightly irregular flan, scattered marks, some flatness. Underlying lustre. Extremely Rare, and in excellent condition for the issue. The 1529 Siege of Vienna halted the seemingly inexorable march of Ottoman conquest that had spread westward across eastern Europe during the previous century or so. Following a successful military campaign in Hungary led by Sultan Suleiman I 'the Magnificent', the Ottoman army had set out to besiege the city of Vienna in September 1529. The long advance to Austria depleted Ottoman resources and the European wet season caused many of the troops to arrive in a poor state of health. The Austrian resistance, an impromptu collaboration of the city's population and European mercenaries, fortified the ancient heart of the city around St. Stephen's Cathedral and prepared for a lengthy siege. The treasures of Vienna's churches were used to strike an emergency issue of coinage, of which the present piece is an excellently preserved example, in order to pay the mercenaries sent by the Holy Roman Emperor. Abandoning the siege in mid-October, the Ottoman retreat was further hampered by the weather. This humiliating end to the campaign in Hungary ended Ottoman expansion into central Europe and marked the zenith of their predominance, and for more than a century afterwards the Ottoman Empire was unable to threaten central Europe.

Sicily, Syracuse AR 8 Litrai. Fifth Democracy, circa 214-212 BC. Signed by the engraver Ly(sid...). Head of Demeter to left, wearing wreath of grain leaves, triple pendant earring and pearl necklace; behind, owl standing left / Nike, holding goad in her right hand and reins in her left, driving quadriga galloping to right; above, monogram of ΑΡΚ; on ground line, in tiny letters, ΛΥ; [ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ in exergue]. Burnett D 53 = De Luynes 1395; Jameson 894 (this obverse die). 6.76g, 21mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Numismatica Ars Classica N, 26 June 2003, lot 1176. This issue belongs to the series of silver coins that continued to be minted while Syracuse was under siege by the Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Syracuse had been ably and wisely ruled by Hieron II, who steadfastly maintained the city’s alliance with Rome. However, upon his death the throne passed to his grandson Hieronymos, who at the age of only fifteen allowed himself to be influenced by the pro-Carthaginian faction in Syracuse into renouncing the alliance his grandfather had so carefully preserved. This course of action resulted in revolution within the city; Hieronymos and his family were slain and democratic government was restored, but the following year a Roman army arrived to lay siege to the city. Though the defenders held out for three years, in part thanks to the engineering genius of Archimedes, the Romans finally stormed the city under cover of darkness. Much of the population fell back to the citadel, but this too fell after an eight month siege. As retribution for the city having changed its allegiance to Carthage at the height of the Second Punic War, and for having forced the Romans into a lengthy and costly siege while Italy and Rome herself remained in peril, the city was thoroughly sacked and the inhabitants put to the sword or enslaved. Though Marcellus gave instruction that Archimedes was to be spared, he too was slain in the sack. This extensive series of siege coinage reflects the last flourishing of Syracusan numismatic art; the diversity of the coinage is all the more impressive given that the city was being subjected to protracted warfare during this period. The series is special too for its depiction of so many deities, for whose divine assistance the people clamoured to deliver them from disaster.

Octavian AR Denarius. Cyrene, autumn 31 BC. L. Pinarius Scarpus, moneyer. Open right hand; SCARPVS above, IMP below / Victory standing right on globe, holding wreath and palm; CAESARI downwards on right, DIVI•F downwards on left. Crawford 546/7; RIC 534; CRI 414; Sydenham 1283. 3.67g, 20mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare with the shortened legends, and known from only one obverse die. According to Crawford, this coin represents the last denarius of the Roman Republic. L. Pinarius Scarpus commanded four legions for Marc Antony in Cyrenaica against Octavian's African army, which was under the command of Cornelius Gallus. After learning of Antony's defeat at Actium, Scarpus changed his allegiance to Octavian. This issue was struck shortly after the battle of Actium, the open hand signalizing a gesture of friendship toward Octavian.

Constantine I AV Solidus. Treveri, AD 313-314. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head right / VICTOR OMNIVM GENTIVM, Constantine standing left, holding signum and shield, with two suppliants before him and a captive behind; PTR in exergue. RIC 27; Schulten Em. 16; Depeyrot 19/1. 4.41g, 19mm, 5h. About Extremely Fine. Rare. In 312 Constantine I defeated Maxentius’ army at Turin and Verona, securing northern Italy before marching southward to Rome. Just beyond the Milvian Bridge to the west of Rome, Constantine decisively defeated Maxentius to become sole western emperor. Soon after in 313, Constantine successfully conducted another military campaign against the Franks and the Alemanni in Gaul to secure the Rhine frontier. This solidus was struck in Constantine’s capital of Treveri, where he celebrated his victories in the winter of 314, and the reverse legend proclaims Constantine the ‘victor over all people’. The same phrase was used by Eusebius (Life of Constantine, 1.3-5) when describing Constantine’s victories as a manifestation of God’s power and support for the emperor. Indeed, it was Licinius’ dismissal of Christians from both the army and government, and his order of the execution of Christian bishops, which prompted Constantine to invade Licinius’ territories. In 324, Constantine defeated Licinius at Chrysopolis and later had him hanged, thus becoming the first sole ruler since Diocletian.

Postumus Ӕ Double Sestertius. Lugdunum, AD 261. IMP C M CASS LAT POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate,draped and cuirassed bust right / LAETITIA AVG, galley right with four rowers. RIC 143; Bastien 87. 15.92g, 32mm, 6h. Virtually Mint State – apart from a light patina, this remarkable specimen is otherwise exactly as it was when it left the die. One of the very finest known sestertii of Postumus in existence. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 1223. Postumus appears to have been an imperial legate of Lower Germany when he defeated a Juthungian army which was returning from Italy, laden with goods and captives (even though they had been turned back by Gallienus at Mediolanum). Postumus had already distributed the captured wealth to the legions he commanded when he received the command of Gallienus’ son and Caesar, Saloninus, to hand over the recovered spoils. Renouncing Gallienus and Saloninus, the troops hailed Postumus as emperor, and proceeded to attack Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium and kill Saloninus. Postumus immediately secured the loyalty of Gaul, Upper and Lower Germania, and Raetia. The following year Britannia, Gallia Narbonensis and Hispania followed suit. Though Postumus relied on the army which kept him in power for a decade, the safety of the provinces was not solely an army matter, for the coasts required protection also, and so it is reasonable that his navy deserved mention on the coinage. The issues which couple the reverse legends FELICITAS and LAETITIA with scenes of a galley probably show that the emperor by no means neglected his navy, and perhaps that it achieved success. The type of galley depicted on the reverse of the present coin could be a navis lusoria, which was a small military vessel of the late Roman Empire that served as a troop transport. It was smaller and narrower than similar earlier vessels, and ideally suited to the rivers close to the Limes Germanicus; the presence of this type of vessel in the Classis Germanica is shown through the discovery of the Mainz Roman ships in 1981-2, thus proving that they operated on the Rhine and Danube.

Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus with P. Servilius Casca Longus AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with the army (western Asia Minor or northern Greece), summer - autumn 42 BC. CASCA LONGVS, laureate bust of Neptune right, trident below / BRVTVS IMP, Victory in long tunic walking to right, palm branch over left shoulder and breaking diadem with both hands, broken sceptre on ground. Crawford 507/2; CRI 212; RSC 3; Sydenham 1298; Kestner 3779; BMCRR East 63-65. 3.94g, 19mm, 12h. Good Very Fine.

Severus II, as Caesar, AR Argenteus. Serdica, AD 305-306. SEVERVS NOB C, laureate head right / VIRTVS MILITVM, three-turreted camp gate with no doors; •SM•SDA• in exergue. RIC -; NAC 62, 6 October 2011, lot 2089 (same dies). 3.29g, 20mm, 12h. Minor bump behind portrait, otherwise Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of very few known examples. Ex Heritage 3026, 25 September 2013, lot 23432. Most likely struck to mark the commencement of the Second Tetrarchy in AD 305, this extremely rare coin is one of only a handful known. A number of argentei of Severus II came to light in a hoard about a decade ago; prior to this, they were virtually unknown. Cohen lists no such types, and RIC lists one argenteus of Severus II (21), but as Augustus rather than Caesar. The scarcity of these types might be explained by the short period of time during which Severus held the position of Caesar before being elevated by Galerius after the death of Constantius I in summer 306 - in a matter of months he was raised from the senior ranks of the army to Augustus in the West. However, his time as Augustus came to an abrupt end when he was tasked with the suppression of the revolt of Maxentius in Rome: he marched on the city at the head of an army previously commanded by Maximian, father of Maxentius, to whom his soldiers deserted. Severus fled to Ravenna where, in 307, he was persuaded by Maxentius to surrender. Despite Maximian’s assurances that he would be treated with respect, Severus was nonetheless displayed as a captive and later imprisoned at Tres Tabernae. When Galerius invaded Italy to suppress Maxentius and Maximian himself, Maxentius ordered Severus’ death. He was executed (or forced to commit suicide) on 16 September 307.

Elagabalus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 218-219. IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / FIDES MILITVM, laureate figure of Elagabalus standing right, dressed in military attire and holding transverse spear, flanked by a soldier carrying standard and shield to right and a second soldier holding a standard topped by a hand behind; a third standard in the background. RIC 76d; BMCRE 16 note; C. 42; Calicó 2994. 7.26g, 21mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex Numismatik Lanz 58, 21 November 1991, lot 743. An incredibly unlikely emperor of no proven ability or wisdom, Elagabalus' rise to power was due to the persistence of his vengeful grandmother, Julia Maesa, sister to Julia Domna and sister in law to Septimius Severus. Having been exiled to Syria with her children and grandchildren by Macrinus in order that they not cause trouble at his accession, she plotted to have him assassinated and promote Elagabalus to the throne in revenge for the murder of Caracalla and the usurpation of the Severan line. Using her wealth and influence, and in combination with a public statement that Elagabalus was Caracalla's illegitimate child, she gained the backing of various Senators and soldiers who were loyal to the deceased emperor. Having achieved the allegiance of the Third Legion at Raphana, it took but little encouragement for Elagabalus to be declared emperor by the army in AD 218. Accepting the purple at the tender age of fourteen, Elagabalus took the formal name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, reaffirming the fabricated story that he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla and thus the true heir. This reverse type was used to further secure Elagabalus' position as Emperor, calling as it does for 'the loyalty of the soldiers', but the strong military type seen here was struck before the young emperor had shown his real character traits of religious fanaticism and sexual perversion, interests which only surfaced after his arrival in Rome. The ancient sources spare no detail in their descriptions of life in the Imperial palace of Elagabalus, aspects of which become evident on his later coinage.

Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, circa AD 104/105-107. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Trajan in military dress, on horseback galloping to right, hurling spear at fallen barbarian to right. C. 501 var. (bust not cuirassed); BMC 245 (same); RIC 208 var. (same); CBN 241; Calicó 1107a; Woytek 202 f2. 7.29g, 20mm, 7h. Mint State. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 21, 17 May 2001, lot 433. Trajan had in AD 101-102 launched an offensive against the powerful Dacian king Decebalus with whom Domitian had signed an unfavourable (and some would argue shameful) treaty some twenty years before, the price of which was the payment of an annual ‘subsidy’ of eight million sestertii and the presentation of a diadem from Domitian to Decebalus. In that war, Trajan succeeded in defeating the Dacians in a series of pitched battles, and reduced Decebalus to the status of client king. The victory was celebrated with a triumph (Trajan’s first), and later by the construction of the Tropaeum Traiani. Although this victory had greatly eroded Decebalus’ power, he nonetheless began to rearm straight away, to harbour Roman runaways and to pressure the neighbouring barbarian tribes to ally themselves with him. In 104 he organised a failed attempt on Trajan’s life by means of some Roman deserters, as well as capturing Trajan’s legate Longinus who he tried to use as a bargaining chip; Longinus however took poison to avoid compromising his country and emperor. Then finally in 105 Decebalus launched an invasion of the Roman-held territories north of the Danube. Trajan was not unprepared; by 105 the concentration of Roman troops assembled in the middle and lower Danube regions amounted to fourteen legions – half of the entire Roman army. Trajan ordered the construction of a massive bridge over the Danube designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, which for over 1,000 years was the longest arch bridge ever built both in terms of total and span length. The counter-offensive consisted mostly of the reduction of the Dacian fortress network which the Romans systematically stormed while denying the Dacians the ability to manoeuvre in the open. At last Decebalus’ main stronghold of Sarmizegetusa was taken by storm and razed to the ground. Decebalus himself escaped, but soon after committed suicide as a Roman cavalry scout named Tiberius Claudius Maximus was closing on him. Maximus delivered the head and right hand of the enemy king to his emperor. Trajan’s second triumph was understandably a grand affair, which was accompanied by spectacular games that the emperor held in celebration: ten thousand gladiators fought in these games, and ten thousand animals were sacrificed in thanks to the gods. The riches of Dacia (estimated recently at 165 tons of gold and 331 tons of silver) were invested in a series of important public works, the jewels of which were the forum and great market in Rome which bore the emperor’s name, and the magnificent celebratory column depicting the glorious achievements of the campaign. As reward for his service the cavalry scout Tiberius Claudius Maximus was decorated and immortalised in a relief on Trajan’s column. A grave stele he ordered made for himself while he lived tells us of his deeds and honours, and bears his likeness on horseback, riding down the Dacian king. The relief is nearly identical to the reverse of this coin type.

Septimius Severus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 193-194. IMP CAE•L•SEP• SEV•PERT•AVG, laureate head right / VIRT•AVG TR P•COS, Virtus standing left, holding Victory and reversed spear. RIC 24; Calicó 2570; BMCRE 32; Biaggi 1114. 7.27g, 19mm, 12h. Mint State. A stunning example. Struck as part of the first issue to be produced for Septimius Severus in AD 193, the reverse type of the present piece is understandably military in flavour. Following the assassination of Commodus, and the swift removal of his successor Pertinax by the Praetorian Guard, Severus was still challenged by three rival claimants to the throne: Didius Julianus, whom Herodian (ii.6.4) tells us bought the emperorship at an auction organised by the Praetorian Guard; Pescennius Niger in Syria, whose legions had proclaimed him emperor; and the powerful governor of Britannia, Clodius Albinus. Condemned to death by the Senate, Julianus posed no threat to Severus and he was able to enter Rome unopposed, an event likely the specific catalyst for this reverse type where Severus is hailed as the ‘Virtuous (or Courageous) Emperor’. Securing his power-base in Rome and keeping Albinus closely allied by raising him to the rank of Caesar, Severus travelled to the East to quell the revolt led by the other claimant Niger and routed his army at the Battle of Issus. However once back in Rome, and having proclaimed his son Caracalla his successor, Albinus’ troops revolted and declared their leader emperor: meeting Albinus’ army near Lugdunum in 197, a great battle ensued after which, with Albinus dead and his army defeated, Severus had cemented his control over the whole Empire.

Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum AR Tetradrachm. Circa 350-325 BC. Rhodian standard. Lykomedes, magistrate. Helmeted and cuirassed cavalryman on horseback, galloping right, holding lance in right hand, cloak flowing behind / Bull charging left; ΜΑΓΝ above, ΛΥΚΟΜΗΔ below; all within circular maeander pattern. Imhoof-Blumer (1901) p. 76, 3; SNG Kayhan 409 (but magistrate’s name differently arranged). 15.10g, 25mm, 11h. Good Extremely Fine. Beautifully vivid iridescent toning. Very Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex A. Tkalec, 18 February 2002, lot 62. A city of ancient founding, Magnesia was originally settled sometime in the second millennium BC by Magnetes from Thessaly, from whom the city took its name, along with some Cretans. According to myth, the settlers were soldiers from Agamemnon’s army, disbanded after the Trojan War. It occupied a commercially and strategically important position in the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralleis. The city evidently grew in wealth and power relatively quickly, as in the 7th century it was already strong enough to challenge Ephesus and go to war with that city. According to Strabo, citing Archilochos, at some point around 650 BC the city was taken and destroyed by Kimmerians. Strabo also relates that the site was annexed by Miletos, who may have been responsible for its reconstruction (though Athenaeus gives a conflicting account, attributing the reconstruction to Ephesos). Regardless, the city was evidently rebuilt by 547/6, when it was plundered by Mazares and subjected to Persian dominion. The earliest coinage currently attributed to Magnesia appears to have been that issued by the exiled Athenian statesman and general Themistokles, who, having been cast out of his homeland, offered his services to his former enemy Artaxerxes. The Persian king was so elated at the offer of service from such a dangerous and illustrious foe, that he made Themistokles the governor of the district of Magnesia, and assigned him the revenue of not only that city, but also Myos and Lampsakos. Following the death of Themistokles, no further coinage appears to have been issued by Magnesia for possibly as much as a century, before the present issue of tetradrachms, didrachms and drachms. In 398 BC the city was moved from its original location at the confluence of the Meander and the Lethaeus, one of its tributaries, to its present location by Thibron who, at Pergamon, had succeeded Xenophon as commander of the Ten Thousand.

Marc Antony AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Antony in northern Syria, late summer - autumn 38 BC. Bare head right, ANT•AVG•III•VIR•R•P•C• around / Trophy of arms; at base to left, prow left; Macedonian shield to right; IMP-TER across fields. Crawford 536/3 note; CRI 272; RSC 18b; Sydenham 1204; Kestner 3830 var. (obv. legend); BMCRR East 149. 4.01g, 19mm, 4h. Near Mint State. Sound, lustrous metal. A wonderful example of this desirable type. Very Rare. The Parthians had been well aware of Caesar’s ambitions to invade their territory, and during the civil war that followed the dictator’s assassination, they actively supported the cause of the Liberators, sending a contingent of troops which fought with them at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Following that defeat the pro-republican general Titus Labienus, who had lately served as Cassius’ ambassador to Parthia, assisted the Parthians in their bid to invade the Eastern Roman territories. Along with the Parthian prince Pacorus, Labienus commanded the invasion forces which swept into Syria and down the Phoenician coast. Distracted first by his dalliance with Cleopatra, then by his wife Fulvia, in the following year Marc Antony eventually dispatched his lieutenant Publius Ventidius Bassus with eleven legions to drive back the invaders. Ventidius first surprised and defeated Labienus at the Cilician Gates, executing the traitor, then encountered a Parthian army at the Amanus pass which he also defeated. Finally in the spring of 38 at the Battle of Cyrrhestica, Ventidius inflicted an overwhelming defeat against the Parthians which resulted in the death of the Pacorus. Antony at this point hurried to take command of Ventidius’ forces in the prosecution of a campaign of reprisal against Antiochus of Commagene, who had aided the Parthians. Ventidius meanwhile was pensioned off back to Rome, where he became the first Roman to celebrate a triumph over the Parthians.

Attica, Athens AR Dekadrachm. Circa 469/5-460 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing single-pendant earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over the visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing facing with wings spread; olive sprig and crescent to upper left, AΘE around; all within incuse square. Fischer-Bossert 11 (O7/R11); Starr 59a; Seltman 450a, pl. 21 (A305/P385); Svoronos pl.8, 13; Vinchon 14 April 1984, Comtesse de Béhague 123 = Rhousopoulos 1965 (all same dies). 42.98g, 34mm, 10h. Very Fine. Very Rare; weight adjustment ('Stannard gouge') marks. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-90s; Ex private German collection, acquired c. 1960s. The dekadrachms of Athens have always been regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in all of ancient coinage, and have ever been amongst the most highly prized possessions of private and institutional numismatic collections. The occasion for the striking of these imposing coins has been a subject of scholarly debate for many years, and several different theories have been advanced concerning the motivation for the striking of such a prestigious issue, and the source of the bullion used. Babelon (Traité II, col. 769-770) and Head (HN, pp. 370-371) both perpetuated a misinterpretation of a passage in Herodotos who said that Athens paid ten drachms to each of its citizens for surpluses from the Laurion mines (7.144.1). They both therefore dated the dekadrachm issue to c. 490 BC, shortly after the Battle of Marathon, a date which has been subsequently shown to be far too early. Robinson (NC [1924], pp. 338-340) proposed the victory at Salamis as the reason for issue, while Regling (Die antiken Münzen), advanced a similar view, suggesting the combined victories of Salamis and Plataea. Only Starr and Kraay (NC [1956], p. 55; ACGC, pp. 66-68) understood the dating to be later than the prevailing views, having themselves reviewed the hoard evidence. It was Starr (Athenian coinage 480-449 BC) who suggested the victory at the battle at the Eurymedon river in c. 469/5 as the reason for the issue. The subsequent discovery of the Asyut hoard in 1968 or 1969, and the Elmali hoard in 1984 confirmed the dating around the mid 460s BC. Certainly the Eurymedon victory provided both the celebratory occasion and the means to finance such a grand issue of coinage. In either 469 or 466 BC, the Persians had begun assembling a large army and navy for a major offensive against the Greeks. Assembling near the Eurymedon, it appears that the expedition’s objective was to move up the coast of Asia Minor, capturing each city in turn, thus bringing the Asiatic Greek states back under Persian domination, and furthermore giving the Persians strategically important naval bases from which to launch further expeditions into the Aegean. Led by the Athenian general Kimon, a combined force of Delian League triremes moved to intercept the Persian force, and taking them by complete surprise, the Persian forces were utterly routed, 200 triremes were captured or destroyed, and their camp was taken along with many prisoners. The spoils were reportedly vast, and such a stunning triumph would have provided ample reason for Athens to strike coins displaying its emblematic owl now standing fully facing, its outspread wings a clear statement of Athenian military power.

Anglo-Gallic. Edward the Black Prince, Lord of Aquitaine (1362-1372) AV Léopard d'or. Aquitaine, c.1362-1369. + ED : PmO : GnIS : AnGLIE : P'nCPS : AQVITNIE, crowned leopard passant left, raising right forepaw, within tressure of 10 arches, quatrefoils on points and within spandrels; double quatrefoil stops / + XPC : VInCIT : XPC REGnAT : XPC : IMPERAT, floriate cross within quatrefoil, leopards passant in angles. Withers-Ford 150.3c; Elias 140; Schneider III, 31; S 8121; Friedberg p. 220, 4 (Aquitaine). 3.47g, 28mm, 7h. Extremely Fine. Rare. An exceptional military commander, Edward ‘the Black Prince’ was the eldest son of King Edward III, on whose behalf he campaigned in France from the age of 15. Scoring decisive military victories over the French at Crécy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356, the Black Prince twice crippled the French army for a decade each time. Struck at the height of the Black Prince’s popularity, the leopard d’or is an example of his use of iconography to bolster the English position in Aquitaine, as it appears to deliberately supersede the French mouton d’or – the Paschal Lamb on the obverse and the fleur de lys on the reverse are all replaced by English leopards. This coin was one of the last issues of leopards struck in the period 1357-1361, and the entire series was probably recalled in 1361, when Edward III renounced his title of king of France in exchange for ratification of his possession of Aquitaine in the Treaty of Brétigny. The captured French king John II had to pay three million gold crowns for his ransom, and would be released after he paid one million; he was also required to provide numerous hostages, including two of his sons. While the hostages were held, John returned to France to try and raise funds to pay the ransom. In 1362 John’s son Louis of Anjou escaped captivity. John thus felt honour-bound to return to captivity in England, where he died in 1364. In 1362, the Black Prince was invested as Prince of Aquitaine. He and his wife Joan of Kent moved to Bordeaux, the capital of the principality, where they spent the next nine years, and had two sons. The elder son, named Edward after his father and grandfather, died at the age of six. Around the time of the birth of their younger son, Richard (who would become King Richard II), the Black Prince was lured into a war on behalf of King Peter of Castile. The ensuing Battle of Nájera in 1367 was one of the Black Prince’s greatest victories. While the English longbow again demonstrated its devastating power, driving off the opposing cavalry, unlike in other battles of the Hundred Years’ War however, at Nájera it was the English who assaulted the French lines, with the English vanguard pinning the French formation while their mounted knights flanked and routed the enemy lines. Yet it was this campaign that shattered the Prince’s health, and he died some nine years later after a long-lasting illness contracted in Spain, becoming the first Prince of Wales not to become king, and thus robbing England of a capable and greatly respected heir.

Achaemenid Kings of Persia AV Daric. Time of Darios I to Xerxes II, circa 485-420 BC. Persian Great King or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, in kneeling-running attitude on exergual line to right, holding apple-tipped spear and strung bow; quiver over shoulder / Rectangular incuse punch. Carradice Type IIIb A/B. 8.41g, 15mm. Fleur De Coin. The ancient Greeks themselves believed that the term 'dareikos' was derived from the name of Darius the Great, an assessment that many modern scholars agree with. Others however have generally supposed that the Greek term can be traced back to old Persian 'dari' ("golden") and that it was first associated with the name of Darius only in later folk etymology. Both suppositions may be equally valid. While the Persians had not traditionally used coinage, Cyrus the Great had introduced it to the Persian empire with the conquest of the Lydian Kingdom in 546 BC. The Lydian coinage series featuring a confronted lion and bull type was continued at first, but under the reign of the third Great King, Darios I, the Lydian gold stater was converted into a type bearing the stylised image of the Persian ruler or a hero, a type which would last with little modification until the conquest of Persia by Alexander in the 330s BC. One of the principal motivating factors behind this institution of an official Persian currency was the requirement to pay Greek mercenaries, who were accustomed to receiving payment in coinage, or for official use as bribes and subsidies. Indeed, nothing demonstrates the power of the gold daric more succinctly than when Sparta was waging an increasingly successful war led by Agesilaos II against Persia in Asia Minor (398-395 BC). Unable to defeat the Spartan army, the satrap Pharnabazos sent an Asiatic Greek by the name of Timocrates of Rhodes to distribute ten thousand gold darics in the major cities of mainland Greece and thus incite them to war against Sparta. Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos quickly entered into conflict with Sparta, precipitating a messenger to be sent to Agesilaos ordering him to return to Greece. The recall was a bitter disappointment to Agesilaos, who wryly observed that “but for ten thousand 'archers', he would have vanquished all Asia”.

Constantine I AV Solidus. Treveri, AD 326. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head right / SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, Securitas standing facing with legs crossed, head right, hand on head and leaning on column; TR in exergue. RIC 502; Alföldi 457; Depeyrot 32/6. 4.46g, 19mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Leu 91, 10 May 2004, lot 690. Struck after the end of the Tetrarchy and once Constantine had sole control over the whole empire, this reverse type can be seen to reference the peace and stability that he brought to pass. The 'Security of the Republic', as proclaimed by the reverse legend, was an important message for Constantine to broadcast - in ancient Rome Securitas meant freedom from care, and an attitude of relaxed confidence that resulted from "good" government. Indeed, Constantine proved himself to be an able administrator, notably dividing the military into groups of frontier troops and a central field army, which would prove to be effective in both the civil war against Licinius and his early frontier campaigns.

Zenobia Æ Antoninianus. Antioch, March-May AD 272. S ZENOBIA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane, set on crescent / IVNO REGINA, Juno standing left, holding patera and sceptre, peacock standing left at her at feet; star in left field. RIC 2 corr. (star not noted); Bland, Coinage 29, e–k, dies 45/Jun ii; Carson, Zenobia 3 (same dies); MIR 47, 360b/0; BN 1267a. 3.31g, 21mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare; exceptional for the type. The wife of the ruler of Palmyra, Septimia Zenobia came to power as regent for her son Septimius Vabalathus in AD 267 after the murder of her husband Septimius Odenathus, who had been entrusted with the defence of the Roman provinces in the east by the Emperor Gallienus. A strong character and very ambitious, Zenobia expanded her sphere of influence through the capture of the province of Egypt and the expulsion of the Roman prefect Tenagino Probus and his forces in 269, a campaign aided in its success in part due to the turmoil inside the Roman Empire after the death of Gallienus. The Roman east remained under the control of the kingdom of Palmyra under the subsequent emperors Claudius II and Quintillus, and when Aurelian came to power in 270 he pragmatically chose to acknowledge Zenobia and Vabalathus in order to allow himself time to first deal with various barbaric incursions and usurpers. Though the mint for the rare portrait coins of Zenobia has long been a topic of debate, it is generally agreed now that they were struck in Syria, most likely at Emesa or Antioch, both Roman mints that were taken by Zenobia during her advance into Roman territory and expansion of her empire. The imperial title Augusta is proudly displayed on her coinage, but Zenobia's power was not to last. Having subdued the uprisings in the west, Aurelian marched on her with an army. Their forces met outside Antioch, resulting in a battle that routed Zenobia's army, which fled to Emesa. Zenobia and her son attempted to escape through the desert with the help of the Sassanid Persians, but were captured by Aurelian's horsemen and subsequently taken to Rome to be displayed during the emperor's triumphant return to the city.

Collection of play worn die cast model cars and vehicles including army

Set of BDV cigarette silks - British Army Crests & Badges

A Pilgrims badge depicting a Windmill 15th Century. A pewter badge depicting a Windmill, this piece has some damage, three on the sails and base are missing. The Windmill sail was on the badge of Robert Willoughby Lord of Eresbury who fought and died at the battle of Towton Moor in 1461 by the army of Edward IV Robert Willoughby was a Lancastrian, this badge was found on the Thames at London

Cigarette Cards - various, stuck down and loose, including Speed, Army Badges, etc

A view of the volunteer army of Great Britain in the year 1806, engraved by Henry Richter, published 1 March 1807 by John & Henry Richter, 26 Newman Street, London,engraving, 64 x 92cm (SH)

An impressive Great War Military Cross and Life saving Albert medal group of seven, awarded to second Lieutenant William Marychurch Morgan, comprising; Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued, Albert medal, 2nd class, for gallantry in saving life on land, reverse officially inscribed 'Presented by his majesty to second Lieutenant William Marychurch Morgan for gallantry in saving life at Locon in France on the 14th February 1916', Mons star with clasp '5th Aug-22nd Nov 1914', awarded to '1553 PTE W.M. Morgan H.A.C', 1914-18 War medal, awarded to 'CAPT W.M. Morgan', Victory medal, awarded to 'CAPT W.M. Morgan', India General Service medal G.V.R. with clasp 'Waziristan 1921-24' awarded to 'CAPT W.M Morgan 3-9 JAT.R.', Indian General service medal G.V.I.R. with clasp 'North West Frontier 1936-37', awarded to 'MAJOR W.M. Morgan 3-9 JAT.R', all mounted to barWilliam Marychurch Morgan enlisted as private 1553 in the Honourable Artillery Company, a territorial unit base in London. He went to France on 18th September 1914 and this qualified for the 1914 'Mons' star. He was commissioned on 23rd April 1915 into the Royal Welch Fusiliers and became a captain in the regiment on 9th June 1917.On 22nd April 1916 he was awarded the Albert medal for gallantry in 'Saving Life on Land' as published in the London Gazette dated 19th May 1916. Following this, as recorded in November 1916, Morgan was awarded his Military Cross (M.C.).Morgan's unit at the time of his Albert Medal (A.M.) was 15th Batt R.W.F., part of the 113 infantry brigade, which was itself part of 38th Welsh division. His A.M. was substituted by the General Officer Commanding after Morgan was initially put forward for the M.C. from the A.M. incident which took place at Locon in France. He was presented with both the M.C. and A.M. at the same investiture by H.M. King George V at Buckingham Palace on 16th December 1916. After the end of the War Morgan transferred to the Indian Army and was awarded the two Indian Service medals, here he served in the 3rd/9th JAT regiment.According to his gravestone in Jeffreyston, just North of Tenby, Morgan died a Lieutenant Colonel on 23rd October 1944 and although they do not appear to have been claimed he would have been entitled to at least two World War Two medals.A.M.- London Gazette 19th May 1916, second Lieutenant William M. Morgan, 15th Battalion R.W.F., on the 14th February 1916 during grenade instruction in a trench a men let fall a grenade which sank in the mud so that only the smoke from the fuse could be seen, Lt. Morgan, who was outside the danger zone, at once sprang forward and groped in the mud for the grenade. The difficulty in finding it added greatly to the danger. He picked up the grenade and threw it over the parapet just in time thereby saving several men from death or injury.M.C.- London gazette, dated 25th November 1916, stated that the Military Cross was awarded to Temp 2nd Lt William Marychurch Morgan for 'Conspicuous Gallantry in action on seven consecutive nights, he carried out valuable reconnaissance under intense fire and later he led a daring raid himself accounting for one of the enemy, he had previously done very fine work'.

A assorted collection of medals, cloth and metal army badges, music medals etc, to include five World War II medals (a lot)

A SALVATION ARMY BASS DRUM, for the Edinburgh Congress Hall Band painted in black and red, diameter 31 1/2" (Est. plus 18% premium inc. VAT)

A modern Army Commando knife,with engraved blade, blade length 17.5 cm, leather pouch.

A WWII ERA BRITISH ARMY BAKELITE FIELD TELEPHONE AND A VINTAGE MILITARY VOLTAGE REGULATOR TYPE NUMBER 23/57725 IN ORIGINAL BOX

A COLD WAR ERA BRITISH ARMY SLEEPING BAG, SET OF RED COLD WAR ERA BRITISH ARMY GROUND TO AIR RECOGNITION PANELS IN CANVAS BAG PLUS TWO COLD WAR ERA CAMP BEDS

SIR JOHN BAPTIST DE MEDINA (1659-1710) PORTRAIT OF A MAN TRADITIONALLY IDENTIFIED AS GENERAL HAWLEY bust length in armour, oil on canvas, oval, 73 x 60cm, in 18th c carved frame, black painted Provenance: Mr & Mrs Mark Murray Threipland of Fingask Castle, Perthshire, their sale on the premises, Christie's, 23-25 April 1993, lot 244 (as "Circle of Franz van der Mijn") to the late owner. A professional soldier, General Hawley was said by his fellow officer General James Wolfe (1727-1759) to be 'dreaded' and 'hated' by the troops. That he was notorious amongst the Jacobites is not open to question because of the brutality of the dragoons under his command at the Battle of Culloden. In December 1745 Henry 'Hangman' Hawley (1679-1759) was promoted Commander-in-Chief in Scotland. Despite suffering defeat at the hands of the Jacobites in the Battle of Falkirk Muir the following month, he remained a favourite of the Duke of Cumberland, the Captain-General of the army who ordered Hawley to lead the cavalry at Culloden. He was the officer who, in particular, enthusiastically gave effect to 'butcher' Cumberland's orders and the subsequent brutal crackdown on Jacobitism in the aftermath of Culloden. When this picture was cleaned following the 1993 Sale, an old inscription was found which identified the subject as Hawley, in which case he would have been aged about 30 by the date of the artist's death. ++In ready to hang gallery condition having been restored for the late owner after purchasing the same at the 1993 sale