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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DonnaML, post: 4616827, member: 110350&quot;]CNG usually is reliable, of course, but I think they might be wrong in this case.&nbsp; If you have Sear&#039;s RCV III, he makes clear that the elephant antoninianus and sestertius are not part of the anniversary series; he numbers them separately from that series, and dates both at 247 AD (see RCV III 8921 for the antoninianus and RCV III 8989 for the sestertius). The anniversary series, by contrast was all issued in 248 AD, the year of the anniversary.&nbsp; More importantly, every single one of the anniversary series has SAECVLARES AVGG on the reverse, and the antoniniani all have officina numbers in the exergue -- whether issued in the name of Philip I, Otacilia Severa, or Philip II -- whereas both elephant coins have AETERNITAS AVGG as the reverse legend, and the elephant antoninianus (which I have) has no officina number in the exergue.&nbsp; Why would a coin be issued as part of the 1000th anniversary series, in connection with the Ludi Saeculares, without putting the SAECVLARES AVGG legend on it like all the others?&nbsp; Obviously it makes sense that an elephant would be one of the animals associated with the games, but why separate the elephant coins from all the others?</p><p><br /></p><p>See this article in <i>Coin World </i>by David Vagi on the anniversary coins:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/coins-games-mark-roman-millennium.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/coins-games-mark-roman-millennium.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/coins-games-mark-roman-millennium.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Coins with animal designs mark Roman millennium</p><p>By David Vagi</p><p><br /></p><p>Published: Aug 18, 2014, </p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Interestingly, the Rome Mint’s coinage that showed these animals was produced in different workshops (officinae). Each officina was allocated one animal, and each marked its work by placing a Roman numeral (I, II, III, IIII, V or VI) beneath the ground line on the reverse. A lion was the subject for the first officina, the she-wolf and twins for the second, the European elk for the third, the hippopotamus for the fourth, the stag for the fifth, and the antelope for the sixth.</p><p><br /></p><p>The elephant is not included in this arrangement, as it has a different inscription, AETERNITAS AVGG, and it seems to belong to a separate series. The elephant is shown with a driver seated upon its neck, and it may have been more closely devoted to the emperor and his family than to Rome’s thousandth anniversary. It was an ideal creature for this inscription since it was renowned for its long memory.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;d certainly like to know CNG&#039;s source for its contrary assumption.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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