Just a little old something I had lying around. Didius Julianus was the man that bought the throne from the Praetorian Guard after the murder of Pertinax in AD 193, whereupon he made the incredibly stupid decision to devalue the currency... Upon his accession, Julianus immediately devalued the Roman currency, decreasing the silver purity of the denarius from 87% to 81.5% — the actual silver weight dropping from 2.75 grams to 2.40 grams. After the initial confusion had subsided, the population did not tamely submit to the dishonour brought upon Rome. Whenever Julianus appeared in public he was saluted with groans, imprecations, and shouts of "robber and parricide." The mob tried to obstruct his progress to the Capitol, and even threw stones. --wiki An interesting tidbit of Roman monetary history, no? Well, a few generals did not recognize his rule, namely Septimius Severus, Pescennius Niger, and Clodius Albinus. A civil war ensued, and Septimius Severus eventually prevailed. This is a RECTOR ORBIS type sestertius... Now I have to be away for a few hours. When I return, I expect to see this thread full of your coins of Didius Julianus.
Nothing to show here JA.... nice coin though, if I looked quick I'd dismiss it as a Sept sev provincial....
As rough as it is, one of the great features of this coin is that you can clearly read DID SEV-ER IVLIAN on the obverse. Those four generals evidently all had the same hairdo-beard thing going on. Must have been the latest style.
I sold my only one ever (diferent reverse) in 1974 before I took photos so all I have is a foil pressing. I paid 50 cents from a junk box in a shop in Indianapolis in the 1960's. I liked my coin's slim portrait style. When I sold it as part of a lot, I'm sure I took a loss but would be happy to buy it back today for 20 times the price.
Mine is a Fortuna standing denarius. At some point I'll get an upgrade, but even my worn example was very pricey. I'll also add his wife and daughter eventually.
Marcus Didius Severus Julianus Augustus DIDIUS JULIANUS. 193 AD. AR Denarius 19mm. 3.01 gm. O: IMP CAES M DID IVLIAN AVG Laureate head right R: P M TR P COS Fortuna standing facing, head left, holding rudder on globe, and cornucopiae. - RIC IV 2; BMCRE 6; RSC 10. Ex-CNG Printed Auction 66, Lot: 1528; ex Wayne Philips This type with Fortuna was struck in gold, silver and bronze (dupondius and sestertius).
No DJ here neither (Yo'). Still missing him and Pescennius Niger. Nemo's DJ example is the kind of stuff I would look for. Q
WOW !! That's a gorgeous example @Nemo ... I think yours is terrific Greg....but I guess we ALL can upgrade a bit ---although it'll be like starting all over again LOL I almost pulled the trigger on one about JA's example...but reconsidered as too pricey for the grade...maybe next month.
