Primitive money "Kissi-Penny" · Sierra Leone, Kissi · ID: 3036222
Description
iron, 30 pieces, typical form, traces of corrosion;
first used in 1900, and until the 1920s they were the only money in the area. In 1918, 30 or 40 bundles of 20 pieces each would by a cow, and 60 or 80 bundles would buy a wife. As late as 1915, 100 or 200 bundles would buy a slave.
The object Primitive money “Kissi-Penny” with the object ID 3036222 was last part of the auction 77th tribal art auction at June 28, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 122 achieved a sales price of EUR 200.
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Comparing literature
Opitz, Charles J., An Ethnographic Study of Traditional Money, Ocala, Florida 2000, p. 179 f.