GAUL, Northeast. Ambiani. AV Stater (19mm, 6.16 g). Gallic War issue. Plain bulge / Large disjointed horse right; above, pellets and ornament; below crescent above pellet; lozange ornaments to left [and right]; radiate disc to right; in exergue, grained ground line with horizontal S-pattern below. D&T 241 var. (no palmettes on obv.); Depeyrot
NC VI, 161; Scheers series 24, class IV; cf. de la Tour 8710 (for type); cf. Van Arsdell 56-1; ABC 16; SCBC 11; CCI 04.0394 (this coin). EF, much original luster. Rare sub type. A well struck example.
Found by metal detector in Braughing, East Hertfordshire, 2003.
As their name implies, Gallic War staters were issued to fund the fight against Julius Caesar in Gaul. Two explanations for the blank obverse have been suggested: firstly, to signify that the coins were minted by a coalition of tribes – ‘headless’ in other words – and, secondly, to speed up the production process, because the coins were often made in a hurry. The latter rationale seems to be more plausible.
