122, Lot: 411. Estimate $100. Sold for $105. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HUNGARY. Andreas I. 1046-1060. AR Penny (17mm, 0.59 g). + • REX • ANDREAS, small cross with wedges in quarters / +REGIA CIVIITIAS, small cross with wedges in quarters. Huszár 8 var. (rev. legend); Réthy 11 var. (same). Near EF, lightly toned, typical flatness on reverse.

Andreas I was son of King Vasul of Poland, a relative of Stephen (Istvan) I, the first king of Hungary. A popular leader, he was crowned king after the second revolt against the cruel king Peter. About the same time, pagans under their leader Vata began an irridentist rebellion against the kingdom, but it was quickly suppressed. In 1048, Andreas recalled his brother Béla, and nominated him as his successor. The pair jointly repelled an invasion by the Holy Roman Empire in 1051, an event that forced the emperor to officially recognize Hungarian independence. Soon thereafter, though, Andreas and Béla had a falling-out, and in 1060 the king was fatally wounded in the only battle between their armies. He was buried in the Benedictine Tihany abby, which Andreas founded on the Tihany peninsula on Lake Balaton in 1055, and his tomb is the only Hungarian royal tomb still remaining in its original location today.