Northeast Gaul, the Ambiani AV Stater. Gallic War uniface type. Circa 56-55 BC. Plain / Devolved horse to right; pellet triad and 'charioteer's arms' above, crescent and pellet below, exergual line with crescents and pellets below. D&T 238; LT 8710; ABC 16; Van Arsdell 54-1. 6.14g, 18mm.
Extremely Fine.
Acquired from Chris Rudd Ltd, November 2001;
Ex W. Alexander collection;
Reportedly found near Colchester, Essex.
These staters were issued by the coalition of Gallic tribes to fund the war against Julius Caesar in Gaul. The blank obverse is likely an indication of the vast quantity that were struck and the haste in which they were made. The Ambiani themselves, to whom these issues are attributed, occupied the Somme valley area and were said to have fielded ten thousand warriors against Caesar. Their chief town Samarobriva, afterwards called Ambiani and Civitas Ambianensium, is thought to have been on the site of modern-day Amiens.