CNG 109, Lot: 445. Estimate $200. Sold for $120. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. BI Tetradrachm (22.9mm, 12.98 g, 12h). Dated RY 6 (AD 121/122). Laureate bust right, slight drapery; crescent moon before / Canopus of Osiris to right; L ς (date) across field. Köln 825; Dattari (Savio) 1321-2; K&G 32.189; RPC III 5312; Emmett 827.6. VF, toned.

From the New Orleans Collection, purchased from Nilus Coins (November 2006).

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.