The Ambiani occupied territory centered on modern Amiens and were among the most prolific Celtic gold coiners in Belgic Gaul. Their uniface staters — struck on one die only, leaving the blank side plain — represent an early stage in a devolution from the original Macedonian gold staters of Philip II that circulated into northern Europe as military pay and trade currency. Over roughly two centuries, that recognizable Hellenistic prototype abstracted into near-pure geometric forms, the Ambiani moving faster down that path than most neighboring tribes.
Caesar names the Ambiani specifically in *De Bello Gallico* among the Belgic confederates mustered against Rome in 57 BC.
The Ambiani occupied territory centered on modern Amiens and were among the most prolific Celtic gold coiners in Belgic Gaul. Their uniface staters — struck on one die only, leaving the blank side plain — represent an early stage in a devolution from the original Macedonian gold staters of Philip II that circulated into northern Europe as military pay and trade currency. Over roughly two centuries, that recognizable Hellenistic prototype abstracted into near-pure geometric forms, the Ambiani moving faster down that path than most neighboring tribes.
Caesar names the Ambiani specifically in *De Bello Gallico* among the Belgic confederates mustered against Rome in 57 BC.