413, Lot: 335. Estimate $150. Sold for $110. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan. AD 98-117. BI Tetradrachm (23mm, 13.47 g, 12h). Dated RY 15 (AD 111/112). Laureate head right / Canopus of Osiris right; L IE (date) across field. Köln 574; Dattari (Savio) 648; K&G 27.372; RPC III 4576; Emmett 371.15. VF, toned, some roughness, spot of verdigris on cheek.

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.