Gold Aureus of Didius Julianus, 6.81 g.
Title
Gold Aureus of Didius Julianus, 6.81 g.
Creator
Didius Julianus
Date
193 CE
Description
Obverse: Laureate head of Didius Julianus facing right; IMP(ERATOR) CAES(AR) M(ARCVS) DID(IVS) IVLIAN(VS) AVG(VSTVS): Imperator Caesar Marcus Didius Julianus Augustus.
Reverse: Fortuna standing facing left, holding rudder on globe in right hand, cornucopia in left; P(ONTIFEX) M(AXIMVS) TR(IBVNICIA) P(OTESTATE) CO(N)S(VL): Pontifex maximus, with tribunician power, consul.
Style/Period: Roman Empire
Marcus Didius Severus Julianus was born to a prominent family in Milan, was consul with Pertinax in 174 or 175 CE, and governed Africa and a number of military provinces. When the emperor Pertinax was murdered by the praetorian guard, the very wealthy Julianus and the urban prefect (and father-in-law of Pertinax), Flavius Sulpicianus, literally conducted a bidding war for the empire, offering donatives to secure the support of the praetorians. Julianus won, promising 25,000 sestertii per man. Meanwhile, Septimius Severus, who on the death of Pertinax had been acclaimed emperor by his troops, marched on Rome, where the Senate abandoned and condemned Julianus. Julianus ruled for 66 days.
The coins of Julianus ironically emphasize military concord and imperial good fortune. His portraits, known only from his coins, resemble those of Pertinax in type, but they lack the strength and resolve of his predecessor's. The reverse of this aureus depicts the goddess Fortuna, who determined the fate of the emperor and the empire. She holds her usual attributes, a rudder on a globe, which refers to her guidance of the world, and a cornucopia, symbol of the prosperity she brings.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage IV.1: Pertinax to Geta (London 1936) 2.
The coins of Julianus ironically emphasize military concord and imperial good fortune. His portraits, known only from his coins, resemble those of Pertinax in type, but they lack the strength and resolve of his predecessor's. The reverse of this aureus depicts the goddess Fortuna, who determined the fate of the emperor and the empire. She holds her usual attributes, a rudder on a globe, which refers to her guidance of the world, and a cornucopia, symbol of the prosperity she brings.
-- Carol L. Lawton
Bibliography: H. Mattingly and E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial Coinage IV.1: Pertinax to Geta (London 1936) 2.
Source
Former collection of Ottilia Buerger. Purchased from Numismatic Fine Arts, 6-1-1989. Ex H.P. Hall collection; Jameson collection; Quelen collection.
Identifier
91.192
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Subject
Roman, Empire, Didius Julianus, Fortuna, rudder, globe, cornucopia
Files
Citation
Didius Julianus, “Gold Aureus of Didius Julianus, 6.81 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/296.