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THE MINT OF LUGDUNUM. 8962. Olv. IMP-NERO CAESAR AVG PP. Laur. head ofNero r.Rev.Legionary eagle between two standards.Coh. 356.This reverse type leaves practically no doubt asregards either the date or place of mintage of thesecoins. The allusion is clearly to military operations ofsome sort ;and since the date of the Parthian campaignis too early for the issue of this coin, which isof the reduced weight of Nero's later silver, the onlyother occasion to which it could reasonably refer isthe defence of Lugdunum and mobilizationagainst Vindex, in the spring of A.D. 68.of forcesThis dateentirely accords with the style of these denarii, and itseems not improbable that they were struck at Lugdunumat the very time that the rebel army wasbesieging the city. 32The style of portraiture differsfrom that of Nero'sRoman aurei and denarii, and corresponds with theflat outspread portrait, with untidy hair, which is, aswe have already noted, characteristic of Lugdunum.The chin and neck are heavily developed, and, in mostcases, Nero is shown with a closely cropped beard.Afurther point about the eagle and standards denariuscalls for notice, namely the distinctive form of obverselegend, IMP-NERO-CAESAR AVG PP, which occursalso in conjunction with the reverse types, ROMA,IVPPITER CVSTOS, SALVS and IVPPITER LI-BERATOR. In each instance, however, it will beseen that the style of portrait is non-Roman. Whereaswhen the types IVPPITER CVSTOS and SALVS32 Cf. an interesting and suggestive article by Mr. H. Mattinglyin Num. Chron., 1914, pp. 110 ff.