British and World Coins, Historical Medals

Medals and Awards to, and formerly the property of, George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong, who made a then club record 621 first-team appearances for Arsenal FC between 1962 and 1977, and was “one of the most accomplished players never to have won a full cap for England”:

Sous-District, Avesnes, a bronze award plaque, unsigned, back named (L. Leroi, 1956), 40 x 24mm;
Football, a bronze fob, unsigned, back engraved (Victoria Cup, 1956-7), 30 x 24mm;
The Football Combination, League Championship, a silver-gilt award medal by Vaughton, named (Saturday Section, Runners-Up, 1961-62, G. Armstrong), hallmarked Birmingham 1961, 29mm;
London Football Association, a light bronze award medal by Vaughton, named (L.F.A. Challenge Cup, G. Armstrong, Winners 1962/1963), 29mm;
Junior Tournament F.C. Blue Stars, Zurich, a bronze Winner’s award medal by Huguenin, rev. junioren-turnier f.c. blue stars zürich sieger, stamped 1963, 40mm;
Ente Provinciale per il Turismo Latina, a plated award medal signed VAL, engraved (Arsenal F.C., U.C. Latina, 9-5-1965), 35mm;
BURMA, Football Coaching Course, Yangon, 1995, a heavy uniface light bronze medal, unsigned, 140mm, in blue card case of issue with plaque ‘To commemorate the football coaching course jointly organised by S.P.E.D., M.F.F., Strata Sports Marketing and Tero Entertainment Holding Co, Yangon, Myanmar, June 1995’;
MALAYSIA, IXth FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship, 1997, a framed plaque, 33 x 23cm, in red fitted case of issue;
MALAYSIA, Football Association of Malaysia, Olympic 2000, Coca-Cola sponsorship lanyards (4), lapel badges (7) [Lot]. Very fine and better
£600-£800

George ‘Geordie’ Armstrong (1944-2000), b Hebburn, co Durham, was an apprentice electrician who played football for his works team before he was scouted by Newcastle United, for whom he played as an amateur before falling out with the coaching staff at St James’s Park. An inside forward, he signed for George Swindin’s Arsenal in September 1961, making his senior debut against Blackpool as a 17-year old in February 1962. In the Billy Wright and Bertie Mee eras he flourished as a winger and was capped five times for the England Under-23s; he was also instrumental in the Gunners winning the 1969-70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Voted Arsenal’s Player of the Year in 1970, he played in every match when Arsenal clinched the League and FA Cup double in 1971. A regular squad player for the next few years, he eventually fell out with Terry Neill and moved to Leicester City in 1977, playing one season for them before moving to Stockport County and then, as player-manager, to FK Mjølner, based in Narvik in north Norway, in 1980. Following his retirement as a player Armstrong returned to England and moved into coaching, working with Fulham, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and QPR before accepting the post of manager of the Kuwaiti national team in 1988. In 1990 he was back in England as Arsenal reserve team coach, a post he retained for the rest of his life which was tragically cut short on 31 October 2000 when he suffered a brain haemorrhage while taking a training session at London Colney, from which he died a few hours later