413, Lot: 340. Estimate $100. Sold for $65. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. BI Tetradrachm (23mm, 11.78 g, 12h). Dated RY 5 (AD 120/121). Laureate bust right, slight drapery / Canopus of Osiris to right; L ∆ (date) across field. Köln 784; Dattari (Savio) 1316; K&G 32.117; RPC III 5198; Emmett 827.4 (R2). VF, lightly toned, pit on the reverse.

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.