The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

480 SIR AKTHUR EVANS.
the same exergual inscription A VCOB. GC
It is really of
silver gilt, but was certainly taken from a gold original,
and must therefore be regarded as representing an
67
Imperial issue. As, however, in spite of the murder
of Gratian, Theodosius found it politic for a while to
recognize the usurper as a colleague, the solidus in
question may have been struck in Maximus's lifetime.
That Magnus Maximus, who made Britain the start-
ing-point for his Continental enterprise, should have
struck coins at the London mint was natural enough.
But the great restoration and reorganization of Eoman
Britain at the hand of Valentinian's general, Theo-
dosius, had taken place sixteen years earlier, and
there exist, as we shall see, some curious pieces of
numismatic evidence which bring the revival of the
mint at Londmium Augusta into connexion with that
event.
Already in 360 Julian, then in his winter quarters
at Paris, had been seriously disturbed by the news
of a combined attack of Picts and Scots on Britain,
and had sent his Magister Armorum Lupicinus to
"Lundinium ", which here appears under its old name, 63
to take remedial measures. But matters went from
bad to worse, and it seems probable that the Saxons
then ravaging the Gaulish limites had also taken a hand.
The Dux Britanniarum Fullofa tides was successfully
ambushed by the barbarians, and " Comes Maritimi
tractus" Nectaridus, whose sphere of activity would
66
Published
PL iv. 16.
by De Salis, Num. Chron., 1867, p. 62, and
07 De Salis, loc. cit., was inclined to regard the piece as barbarous,
I venture to think on insufficient grounds. It weighs 50-7 gr.
68 Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xx, c. 1.