313, Lot: 557. Estimate $150. Sold for $260. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

HUNGARY. Béla IV. 1235-1270. AR Denar (15mm, 1.08 g, 6h). + REX BELA · QVARTVS, Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) standing left, head right; long cross in foreground / VNGA · · RIЄ, Béla seated facing on throne, holding globus cruciger and lis-tipped scepter. Huszár 294; Réthy 229. Good VF, toned. Ex Leonard O. Greenfield Collection (Triton XIII, 4 January 2010), lot 1822.

Béla was the king of Hungary during the invasion of Europe by the Mongols, who invaded Hungary in 1241. On 11 April, near the town of Mohi, a small army of Hungarians led by Béla, and supported by troops from the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights, was defeated by the Mongols under their generals Batu. Subutai, Shiban, and Berke. Afterward, Béla fled to the west, and pled, in vain, for help from the Pope and Holy Roman Empire. Over the subsequent year, the Mongols attempted to subdue the kingdom, but ultimately were forced to abandon their conquests and return east after the passing of the Great Khan Ogedai. Soon thereafter, Béla significantly reformed the kingdom by granting large tracts of land to his supporters, who were required to fortify their new domains in preparation of future invasions. The king enacted many other reforms that further strengthened the realm, and were so successful that Béla is thought of as the "second founder" of the Kingdom of Hungary.