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January proves to be a busy month in France including 37 sales at the Drouot in a fortnight

Among the highlights of the year at Spink was a group of 17 medals awarded to Air Vice-Marshal Sir Matthew Brown ‘Bunty’ Frew (1895-1974).

After striking a few coins in both gold and silver which were still closely related to Byzantine and Sasanian prototypes, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam, the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 685-705AD (65-86H), made a clean break with the pre-Islamic past and introduced a completely new gold coinage in 77H.

A round-up of news from the previous seven days, including IACF postponing its Runway Monday event at Newark and the next Ardingly Antiques Market.

Starting his collection with a 1568 sixpence purchased in Swanage in 1957, marine insurance broker Christopher Comber (1944-2019) formed a remarkable collection of Elizabeth I coins.

Shapero Rare Books has launched a new Islamic department, broadening its collections of books from the Arabic, Ottoman, Persian and Indian worlds.

The Medals, Orders and Decorations sale at Morton & Eden in November featured two Victoria Crosses awarded during the Indian Mutiny. They sold to the same buyer for a combined hammer price of £300,000.

This silver penny struck for Ludeca, a short-lived king of Mercia who ruled from 826-7, was found at Combe Bissett, Wiltshire, in 2016.

Colchester auction house Reeman Dansie follows a policy of detailed cataloguing for Chinese art but modest estimates

Typical Charles Cooper Henderson coach scene rolls into Cheffins' saleroom

This canine portrait 'Minnay' by Edouard Manet (1832-83) will be offered for sale by Drouot Estimations on February 26.

A recent Reeman Dansie sale in Colchester included 80 pieces from the estate of the well-known dealer Jane Sumner, who died last September at the age of 82.

A very early coloured litho view of Melbourne formed part of an Australiana sale held by dealer and auctioneer Peter Arnold (18% buyer’s premium).

This Queen Anne (1702-14) five guineas piece from 1705 sold for £220,000 (estimate £100,000-120,000) to top the Stratos collection of English gold coins offered by Spink on September 15.

The Maas Gallery, well-known specialist in Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and Modern British pictures, is moving to larger premises in St James’s.

The Cluny Museum in Paris, dedicated to works of art from the Middle Ages, pre-empted two items in a Pierre Bergé & Associes sale of Haute Epoque in Paris.