147, Lot: 353. Estimate $200. Sold for $1300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ Dupondius (24mm, 14.80 g). ‘Proto-contorniate’. Rome mint. Radiate head right / Legend in three lines within wreath. RIC V 411 = MIR 36, 534k = L. Hamburger (1925), 1476. Near VF, dark green patina. Extremely rare - perhaps one of two known.

From the Henry Chitwood Collection.

The edge of the coin has been lightly tapped to create a raised rim; sestertii with this edge effect are sometimes referred to as ‘proto-contorniates’. This coin may have served as a presentation piece, perhaps mounted in a phalera for display. Curiously, the only other recorded specimen, that which appeared in a 1925 L. Hamburger sale and is cited by both RIC and MIR, also appears to have had its edges tapped.