Lobi Bronze Bracelet Currency

Deep brown open ring with crosshatched surface and knobbed tips.

This bracelet currency is Lobi, from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. In parts of West Africa, metal rings and bracelets were used as a store of value and in payments such as bridewealth. Overall, a thick, round-sectioned band shaped like a horseshoe, with fine criss-cross engraving along the outside. Small bumps and nubs sit at the flat terminals. The surface is dark brown with uneven wear and a few pits. It is 2.75 inches wide, 2.75 deep and 0.75 high.

Rough on the surface, soft in the shape.