Lobi Bronze Bracelet Currency

Glossy reddish-brown ring with a fine beaded line along the top ridge.

This bracelet currency is Lobi, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. Several forms of metal currency existed across Africa before coins, including rings, rods and blades, each valued by weight and by local custom. Taken as a whole, a round band with a smooth, polished surface and a row of tiny dots running along the top. The terminals are flat and slightly square. The color is a rich reddish brown with a darker patina at the inside curve. It is 2.25 inches wide, 2.5 deep and 0.5 high.

Modest decoration, polished to a real shine.