When doing research for this coin, I happened upon an old post from Prof. Liv Yarrow (livyarrow.org) who found a catalog listing from the now defunct Freeman & Sear. I am copying this verbatim here: "Commentary on this enigmatic issue has focused on the significance of the elephant, which appears to be Indian rather than African. This zoological observation seems to rule out a reference to the Carthaginian elephants and thus poses a challenge to dating this coin to the time of the Second Punic War. Yet E.S.G. Robinson, in NC 1964, pp. 47–48, proposed an interpretation that overcomes these difficulties. He submitted that the association of the elephant with an African head, probably representing the animal’s driver, points to an African origin. Rather than dating the coin issue to the time of Hannibal’s invasion, Robinson drew attention to the disaffection of Rome’s Etruscan allies in 208–207, centered on the town of Arretium, and suggested that the coin types expressed the seditious hope that Hasdrubal would arrive to reinforce his brother. In these historical circumstances, the elephant was a symbol, perhaps copied from earlier coin types, rather than a portrayal from life."

Historia Numorum Italy lists the reference of Baglione in connection with this coin type. Baglione, M.P. 1976. Su alcune serie parallele di bronzo coniato. In Contributi introduttivi allo studio della monetazione etrusca. Atti Convegno Napoli 1975: 153-180. Roma. Within that article, 158 specimens are recorded and the majority can only be found in public collections. The coin is interesting in that Black Africans are typically not featured on coinage. This clear representation is enigmatic in itself. As stated above Robinson seemed to believe that the African paired with the elephant suggested that was the animal's driver. In a 1948 NC article written by H.H. Scullard ("Hannibal's Elephants", it was suggested the elephant pictured on the coin was likely to be Indian due to its small ears and curved back. The type has generally been attributed to the valley of Chiana (Clanis) in Etruria in which Hannibal marched when he fought in the battle of Lake Trasimene. This is where Hannibal ambushed a Roman army which was commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC during the Second Punic War. Etruria was partial to the Carthaginians and thus would have struck coinage to impart support. Part of Hannibal's success in defeating the Romans was the use of war elephants and his destruction of an entire army by means of ambush.

Research on these coins have made abundantly clear that they were a reflection of Hannibal's war against the Romans. His force of elephants, whether they be of Indian or African descent is not so much an issue. Hannibal himself rode an elephant of eastern descent. The use of a black African on the obverse could merely be a label meaning "African" (suggested by Gowers and Scullard in the NC 1950 article).