Mumuye Currency Depicting Fighting Male Antelope

Two twisted horns curl up from a heavy iron ring, as if two antelope had just locked heads above it.

This currency depicting fighting male antelope is Mumuye, from Nigeria, West Africa, and dates to the early 20th century. It is forged iron, and also attributed to the Chamba. Iron currencies in this region were often shaped into tools, rings or symbolic forms, and they could change hands in exchanges such as bride wealth. A thick ring of hammered iron forms the base. From its top, two thin rods spiral upward and outward in tight twists, crossing and kinking like horns in mid-clash. The surface is rust-brown and pitted. It is 8.25 inches wide and 16 high.

Money that has clearly been arguing with itself.