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Sestertius - Vespasian PAX AVGVST S C, Pax
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 74 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The personification of Pax rendered as a standing draped female figure facing left in the central field, her weight resting on her left leg. She extends her right hand forward, offering an olive branch, while her left arm cradles a large cornucopiae overflowing with fruit and foliage. The figure is rendered in the classicising Flavian style with finely detailed drapery falling in naturalistic folds. The large senatorial authorisation marks S and C flank the figure to left and right respectively in the field, and the reverse legend appears in the outer border within a beaded circle. |
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| Additional information |
Vespasian's PAX AVGVST coinage of 74 AD arrived five years after the brutal civil war of 69 — the Year of the Four Emperors — and three years after the sack of Jerusalem. The peace being advertised was real enough, but it was Flavian peace, built on military suppression rather than diplomatic settlement. Vespasian understood the propaganda value of the claim better than most; he had won his throne by force and needed Rome to believe the chaos was permanently over.
RIC II.1 712 is a Rome mint issue, struck in the first year of the reorganized Flavian orichalcum production following earlier retooling of the sestertius series.