As - Vespasian PAX AVGVST S C, Pax

Vespasian struck heavily in bronze during the early 70s AD to fund the reconstruction of Rome following the civil war of 69 and the ongoing costs of consolidating Flavian power. The PAX AVGVST legend on this as is deliberate propaganda — Vespasian built his entire political identity around the restoration of order after the Year of the Four Emperors, and the closure of the Temple of Janus, which he claimed, was the symbolic centerpiece of that message.

RIC II.1 728 is among the more frequently encountered Vespasianic asses from the Rome mint's 74 AD output, a year of particularly high bronze production.