An as was worth a quarter of a sestertius and was struck from bronze. In most cases is was a bit smaller, and the bust faced left rather than right, but not invariably so. (As was pronounced not "ass", but "oz".) Claudius of course is one of the best known emperors, thanks to Robert Graves two "autobiographical" books and the famous BBC series based on them. Probabl Claudius wasn't quite as modern in his sensibilities as Graves and the BBC suggest. Contemporaries describe him as uncouth and foolish, but there are reasons to think the writers were biased. The truth was probably somewhere between, perhaps a little closer to our understanding. After all, the empire was run well, and Claudius did rule for something like 14 years. Had he been a bad emperor, its unlikely he would have been tolerated so long. He was unquestionably a man with physical challenges though -- he was partly lame and by some accounts stuttered and even drooled. But its also unquestioned that he was bookish, and even wrote a now lost study of the Etruscan language. His portraits show a man who in middle age was weak chined, jug-eared, and rather ugly. These bronzes tend to make the best of it, but silver coins I've seen are less forgiving. This particular sample is rather worn and graded VG-F, very good to fine. As a result, it didn't go for the premium that a better bronze as might have. It was still $75. The face reads Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus, Pontifex Maximus (chief preist), Tribunicia Potestates (power of the civil tribune), Imperator (military commander), Patriae Pater (father of his country). The reverse personifies Liberty. SC (Senatus Consultum) is usual on imperial bronzes up until about the middle of the second century, and signifies the authority of the senate.