356, Lot: 410. Estimate $100. Sold for $200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. BI Tetradrachm (26mm, 13.54 g, 12h). Dated RY 10 (AD 125/6). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Canopus of Osiris to right; L ∆-EKATOV (date) around. Köln 903 var. (placement of date); Dattari (Savio) 1326; K&G 32.351 var. (same); Emmett 827.10. VF, find patina with touches of green.

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.