Currency Artifacts

Iron hammered into a spear blade that was never meant to be thrown. Traditional African currency and trade money here includes Kissi pennies from Sierra Leone, manillas from Nigeria, and forged iron spear, stake and scepter currencies from the Congo. The Kissi penny is a long twisted iron rod with a flattened end, used in trade and marriage payments well into the 20th century. Katanga crosses, or handa, were cast in copper alloy in the southern Congo and served as both money and wealth on display.

There are Mbole anklets, Lobi bracelet and snake-form currencies from Burkina Faso, Hausa and Chamba currencies from Nigeria, Kota and Tikar pieces from Gabon and Cameroon, a Mongo king or queen manilla, and Ethiopian brass bracelets. A copper Tipu Sultan coin from 18th century Karnataka, stamped with an elephant, stands in for the rest of the world. Mount tall iron currencies on stands in a row, or lay bracelets along a shelf. Money that held its value by becoming sculpture.