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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Sulla80, post: 7243287, member: 99456&quot;]Lots of variety in this thread already, from Japan ([USER=118287]@iameatingjam[/USER], [USER=51347]@Alegandron[/USER], [USER=15481]@svessien[/USER]), China (@Curtisimo,[USER=51347]@Alegandron[/USER], [USER=90913]@JeffC[/USER]), Bactria ([USER=83845]@Curtisimo[/USER])Olbia ([USER=41219]@furryfrog02[/USER]), and the unusual Netherlands &quot;loodjes&quot; from [USER=44106]@romismatist[/USER]...I&#039;ll add another unusual &quot;coin&quot; - this one unidentified&nbsp; and possibly a modern creation.&nbsp; Cowrie (or cowry) shells were used for millennia as fertility symbols, protection from evil spirits, and a form of money.&nbsp; Cowrie shells were objects of value during the Shang dynasty (c. 1766-1154 BC).&nbsp; The cowrie shell also known as Cyprae moneta or more formally classified:</p><p><b>Superfamily:</b> <i>Cypraeoidea</i></p><p><b>Family:</b><i> Cypraeidae</i></p><p><b>Genus:</b> <i>Monetaria</i></p><p><b>Species: </b><i>M. moneta</i></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1275061[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]1275063[/ATTACH]</p><p>this copper/bronze artifact imitates the cowrie shell</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1275054[/ATTACH]</p><p>The whole in the top allowed shells to be strung together as necklaces called &quot;p&#039;eng&quot;.&nbsp; I don&#039;t know if this is ancient or modern fantasy - interested if anyone on CT knows more.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are two&nbsp; articles describing the use and exchange rates of cowries in West Africa into the 20th century:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;During the economic crisis of the early I930s, when cash receipts from the sale of cash crops dropped enormously, cowries were reported to have reappeared in some Nigerian markets.&quot;</p><p>- Johnson, M. (1970). <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/180215" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/180215" rel="nofollow">The Cowrie Currencies of West Africa. Part I.</a> <i>The Journal of African History,</i> <i>11</i>(1), 17-49</p><p><br /></p><p>See also (more on exchange rates and inflation):</p><p>Johnson, M. (1970). <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/180342" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/180342" rel="nofollow">The Cowrie Currencies of West Africa. Part II</a>. <i>The Journal of African History,</i> <i>11</i>(3), 331-353.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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