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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;enochian, post: 1711613, member: 39576&quot;]<i><b>im guessing no one has one of these in there collection </b></i></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p><i><b>Rai</b></i>, or <b>stone money</b>, are large, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle" rel="nofollow">circular</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_%28geology%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_%28geology%29" rel="nofollow">stone</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_%28mathematics%29" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_%28mathematics%29" rel="nofollow">disks</a> carved out of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone" rel="nofollow">limestone</a> formed from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragonite" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragonite" rel="nofollow">aragonite</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcite" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcite" rel="nofollow">calcite</a> crystals.[SUP]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-2" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>[/SUP] Rai stones were mined in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau" rel="nofollow">Palau</a> and transported for use to the island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap" rel="nofollow">Yap</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesia" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesia" rel="nofollow">Micronesia</a>. They have been used in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade" rel="nofollow">trade</a> by the locals and are described by some observers as a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency" rel="nofollow">currency</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Rai stones are circular disks with a hole in the middle. The size of&nbsp; the stones varies widely: the largest are 3.6 meters (12 ft) in&nbsp; diameter, 0.5 meters (1.5 ft) thick and weigh 4 metric tons (8,800 lb).&nbsp; The largest rai stone is located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumung" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumung" rel="nofollow">Rumung</a> island, near Riy village.[SUP]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-wondermondo-3" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-wondermondo-3" rel="nofollow">[3]</a>[/SUP] Smaller rai stones might have a diameter of 7-8 centimetres.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;The extrinsic (perceived) value of a specific stone is based not only&nbsp; on its size and craftsmanship but also on the history of the stone. If&nbsp; many people—or no one at all—died when the specific stone was&nbsp; transported, or a famous sailor brought it in, the value of the rai&nbsp; stone increases.</p><p>&nbsp;Rai stones were and still are used in rare, important social transactions such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage" rel="nofollow">marriage</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance" rel="nofollow">inheritance</a>, political deals, sign of an alliance, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransom" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransom" rel="nofollow">ransom</a>&nbsp; of the battle dead or, rarely, in exchange for food. Many of them are&nbsp; placed in front of meetinghouses or along pathways. The physical&nbsp; location of the stone may not matter—though the ownership of a&nbsp; particular stone changes, the stone itself is rarely moved due to its&nbsp; weight and risk of damage. The names of previous owners are passed down&nbsp; to the new one. In one instance, a rai being transported by canoe was&nbsp; accidentally dropped and sank to the sea floor. Although it was never&nbsp; seen again, everyone agreed that the rai must still be there, so it&nbsp; continued to be transacted as genuine currency.[SUP]<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-NPR-4" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones#cite_note-NPR-4" rel="nofollow">[4]</a>[/SUP]&nbsp; What is important is that ownership of the rai is clear to everyone,&nbsp; not that the rai is physically transferred or even physically accessible&nbsp; to either party in the transfer.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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