Watch List notes:

JDL Collection Part II: Roman Coins
THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

DIDIUS JULIANUS, March 28, 193–June 1, 193.

Sestertius, Rome May 193, Æ 18.56 g.
Obv. IMP CAES M DID SEV-ER IVLIAN AVG
His laureate head right; border of dots.
Rev. P M TR P COS / S - C Fortuna standing facing, head left, holding rudder set on globe in right hand and cornuco- piae in left; border of dots.
Literature
Cohen 12
BMC RE V, 16, 25
RIC IV/1, 17, 15
Banti 5 = A. M. Woodward, "The Coinage of Didius Julia- nus and his Family", NC 1961, 83, B.O. = Kent-Hirmer, pl. 108, 374 (this coin)
M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 73 (this coin)
Condition
Very rare and by far the finest sestertius of Didius Julianus known. An excellent portrait unusually struck on a very large flan and with a lovely green-brown patina. Extremely fine.

Provenance
Numismatik Lanz 60, Münich 1992, lot 608 (illustrated on the front cover page).
Adolph Hess A.G. - Bank Leu & Co., Luzern, 23 mars 1961, 240.
A. Sambon - C. & E. Canessa, Roma, 18 November 1907, lot 2350.
Former Schulthess-Rechberg and Martinetti-Nervegna collec- tions.
In the confusion that followed the assassination of Pertinax, the man who the senate had hailed emperor after the murder of Commodus, the praetorian guard hosted a scandalous spec- tacle: an auction at which the right to be emperor was sold to the highest bidder. There was a spirited competition between Flavius Sulpicianus, the father-in-law of the murdered Pertinax, and Didius Julianus, a senator and one of the wealthiest men in Rome. When Julianus pledged an accession bonus of 25,000 sestertii per guard, it was a bid that Sulpicianus could not top.
The praetorians led Julianus before the terrified Senate, which had no choice but to ratify the coup d'etat. Many of those living in Rome were appalled by this shameful turn of events and sent messengers to seek help from the commanders in the provinces. Three generals responded. Septimius Severus, being the nearest to Rome, gained the upper hand by arriving in the capital before either of his competitors. The praetorians were no match for the battle-hardened soldiers who had accompanied Severus, and they quickly decided in favor of Severus. Didius Julianus was not so fortunate, as he was captured at the beginning of June and was beheaded in the manner of a common criminal.