Lot 255 TURKEY: AV medal, AH1318, NP-1118cf, 30mm, Hejaz Railway Medal (Hamidiye-Hijaz Demiryolu), holed for wearing, tiny edge cut, prooflike surfaces, Extremely Fine, RRRR. The building of a railway was announced by Sultan Abdulhamid II in 1900 that was to be financed and operated entirely by Ottoman subjects (although the principal engineer was a German). Suspicious of foreigners, but unable to maintain power without their help, Abdulhamid recognized that the construction of a railway to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca would not only improve his image as Caliph of Islam, but also increase the tenuous hold that the Empire had on the distant reaches of the Arabian Peninsula. The railway was never completed, however, as violent opposition from Arab rebels prevented the construction crews from reaching Mecca. The Turkish Ministry of War took over administration of the railway in 1911, and during World War 1 it became the target of Arab guerrillas organised by the Sherif of Mecca, Hussein Ibn Ali, his son Prince Faisal, and a certain British officer named T. E. Lawrence, along with the "Arabian Detachment", "C" Fight of 14 Squadron R.F.C. Funding for the Hejaz railway came from donations, the largest of which came from the Shah of Iran. Not all of the donations were voluntary, but those who did volunteer were rewarded with this medal. The medal came in both wearable and non-wearable versions ranging in size from 26mm to 50mm. The bulk of the medals had the Hegira date 1318, however special series of medals were issued bearing the dates 1322 (for completion of the rail link to Maan) and 1326 (for the link to Medina). The wearable medals were either 68mm or 30mm in diameter, issued in gold, silver and nickel alloy. Originally, the ribbon for all of the medals was red, about 20 to 25mm in width. Those who had made large enough donations to merit the silver medal felt they should wear a different ribbon to differentiate their awards, and so a green ribbon was instituted to replace the red ribbons on silver medals. The original color ribbon for gold is unknown as no published specimens of the gold are shown with ribbon. This is the first example of the gold we have encountered. Estimate $8,000-10,000

Lot 235 EGYPT: AR 10 qirsh, Misr, AH1223 year 29, KM-185, graded by NGC VF details, environmental damage, good strike and decent condition for this rare type, NGC graded Very Fine RRR. Estimate $5,000-6,000

Lot 689 GWALIOR: AV mohur (11.26g), Burhanpur, AH1264, in the name of Shah Alam, similar to K-44 rupee but in gold, struck from slightly rusted dies, second known example, lustrous About Uncirculated, RRRR. Estimate $4,000-4,500

Lot 759 BRITISH INDIA: AV 2 mohurs, 1835 (c), KM-452.1, incuse RS on trucation of neck, skillfully repaired mount traces on the rim at obverse top, two rim bumps, harshly cleaned Very Fine to Extremely Fine. A very similar damaged example of this always popular coin sold in the Heritage World Coin Auction, New York Signature Sale 3008, on 3 January 2010, Lot number: 22167 for $5,750. Estimate $4,500-5,000

Lot 10 SASANIAN KINGDOM: Peroz, 457-484, AV dinar (3.63g), AS (the Treasury), G-172, standard bust right with winged crown / fire altar between 2 attendants, choice Very Fine, RR. Estimate $3,500-4,000

Lot 768 MECCA: AE mahmudi (19.31g), Makka, AH1223, KM-B3, bird / fish, Fine, RR. Struck by Ghalib b. Ma'sud, 1804-1813, Sharif of Mecca. Estimate $2,000-2,300

Lot 681 MUGHAL: Shah Alam II, 1759-1806, AV mohur (10.85g), Kotah urf Nandgaon, AH118x year 3, shroff marks on edge, somewhat double struck, unpublished mint in gold, crude Extremely Fine, RR. Estimate $2,250-2,750

Lot 697 PATIALA: Narindra Singh, 1845-1862, AV mohur (10.64g), AH1197, Y-2, attractive Extremely Fine. Estimate $1,000-1,200

Lot 673 MUGHAL: Jahandar, 1712-1713, AV mohur (10.88g), Bahadurgarh, AH1124 year one, KM-368, couple shroff marks on edge, apparently unpublished for this mint in gold, choice Extremely Fine, RRR. Estimate $2,250-2,750

Lot 672 MUGHAL: Jahandar Shah, 1712-1713, AV mohur (10.98g), Elichpur, AH1077 year 10, KM-315.36, very rare mint in gold, Very Fine, RRR. This is the first of this type in gold we have ever encountered. Estimate $1,800-2,100

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