442, Lot: 562. Estimate $2000. Sold for $3250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Postumus. Romano-Gallic Emperor, AD 260-269. Denarius (20mm, 2.93 g, 7h). Offstrike from aureus dies. Uncertain mint. IMP C POSTVMVS P F AVG COS III, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / PROVIDENTIA AVG, Providentia standing facing, head left, leaning on column and holding baton and cornucopiae; globe at her feet. Sondermann 6a.9–11 (Autumn AD 263); RIC V 96; RSC 304. VF, some porosity and a few deposits. Very rare.

Ex Heidelberger Mūnzhandlung 59 (15 May 2012), lot 326.

This enigmatic silver coin is one of a handful known with this obverse legend, all of which are paired with reverse dies of the present type. One of these Providentia denarii is known to have been struck from a published aureus die: UBS 5 (16 October 1979), lot 499 (= Sondermann 6a.9) was struck from the same reverse die as aurei of Schulte 42. This suggests that there were aurei struck with this interesting obverse legend, though none are known of today.