CNG 103, Lot: 428. Estimate $500. Sold for $800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

GAUL, Northeast. Ambiani. Circa 100-50 BC. AV Stater (18mm, 6.13 g). Gallo-Belgic E. Gallic Wars Issue. Plain bulge / Large disjointed horse right; ornaments around. Depeyrot, NC VI, 161; D&T 238; Van Arsdell 54-1; SCBC 11. EF.

Ex Classical Numismatic Review 18.3 (3rd Quarter 1993), no. 507.

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.