All content of Opuscula 13 is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Vidracco, Braone, and San Lorenzo. Recruitment or dilectio? By Svante Fischer (Independent scholar, Sweden) & Ian N. Wood (University of Leeds, United Kingdom) Abstract This paper is a study of three solidus hoards located at strategic passages through the Italian Alps. It is argued that the hoards are connected to barbarian mercenaries in Roman service. The hoards are analysed and compared to historical sources and solidus hoards from Scandinavia. It is argued that it may be possible to distinguish between hoards that contain solidi used to pay for barbarian recruits and hoards that are proof of dilectio, bonus payments. In the latter case, it is argued that freshly minted solidi from northern Italy are more likely to represent dilectio than older and imported coins. Bibliographical information Svante Fischer & Ian N. Wood, ‘Vidracco, Braone, and San Lorenzo. Recruitment or dilectio?’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 13, Stockholm 2020, 165–186. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN: 978-91-977799-2-0. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-13-07