As - Augustus S C

Struck under Tiberius at Rome, this as belongs to a narrow window of early Tiberian production when the new emperor was still consolidating authority following Augustus's death in 14 AD. The SC — Senatus Consulto — authorizing bronze coinage remained a formal prerogative of the Senate, though by this point it was largely ceremonial deference to an institution Tiberius himself distrusted and increasingly bypassed. RIC I 72 is among the better-documented early aes issues, but die studies have shown considerable variation in flan preparation across this type, consistent with the Rome mint's inconsistent blank production during the Julio-Claudian transition.