Primitive money "Kissy-Penny" · Sierra Leone, Kissi · ID: 3035789
sold
EUR 60
Provenance
Hans Koller, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandZemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 11. September 2004, lot 795 (?)
Heinz Kolerski, Fellbach, Germany
Size
ca. 30 cm
ca. 11.8 inch
Description
iron, 44 pieces, typical form, traces of corrosion;
they were used by four African tribes: Kissi, Loma, Kpelle and Bande. They were 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.
Comparing literature
Opitz, Charles J., An Ethnographic Study of Traditional Money, Ocala, Florida 2000, p. 179 f.