Triton XXI, Lot: 29. Estimate $1000. Sold for $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Vespasian. AD 69-79. Æ Obol (19mm, 3.51 g, 12h). Dated RY 1 (AD 69). ΑΥΤ TIT ΦΛΑ[ΥΙ ΟΥΕΣΠΑΣΙΑΝ ΚΑΙΣ], laureate head right / Canopus of Osiris right; L A (date) to right. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 20.10 = RPC II 2410 (this coin cited and illustrated); Emmett 219.1 (unlisted regnal year); Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 30 (this coin). Good VF, dark brown surfaces. Unique.

From the Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection. Ex Bankhaus Aufhäuser 10 (5 October 1993), lot 383.

Canopic jars were used to store the organs that were removed from the body during the mummification process, specifically the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines. The term “canopic” to describe such vessels is a misnomer, being derived from the port city of Canopus, where the god Osiris was worshipped in the form of a jar.