Triton XXI, Lot: 107. Estimate $2000. Sold for $1400. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. BI Tetradrachm (24mm, 13.32 g, 12h). Dated RY 2 (AD 138/139). [AV]T K T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNINOC Є[VCЄB], bareheaded bust right, slight drapery / Canopus of Osiris right; ЄTO VC B (date) around. Köln 1285 corr. (draped and cuirassed bust); Dattari (Savio) 2179 & 8115; K&G 35.6; Emmett 1373.2; Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 101 (this coin). Superb EF, toned, slight obverse die shift. A one-year tetradrachm type for Pius, with magnificent detail on the canopus.

From the Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection, purchased from Italo Vecchi, London, April 1991.

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.