Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 1873. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $425. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CRUSADERS. Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta). Ferdinand Hompesch. 1797-1798. AR 30 Tari (29.64 g, 12h). Dated 1798. F • FERDINANDVS HOMPESCH M • M •, bust of grandmaster left, in knight's armor; pellet below bust / HOSPITAL • ET S • SEP • HIER •, crowned double-headed eagle displayed with Hompesch coat-of-arms on breast; date and denomination above. Leaved edge. Restelli & Sammut 8; Schembri 3; Davenport 1611B; KM 345.3. Good VF, toned, some adjustment marks. ($300)

Ex Elmen XXV (5 May 1994), lot 225.

The Knights of Malta, descended from the crusading Hospitallers of St. John the Baptist founded by Gerard in Jerusalem before 1110, had held the island of Malta since 1530. The once powerful military order had fallen on hard times, and when Napoleon decided Malta would serve as a fine base of operations for the French Mediterranean fleet the knights were ousted after a brief siege. According to some references, the pellet under the bust marks an issue under French occupation, struck after Hompesch sailed into exile on 18 June 1798. The Knights of Malta still retain sovereignty over property in Rome, and continue to strike ceremonial coins.