knife money

Neat and cool/I am not a coin collector or economist so my knowledge is limited, but I have traveled and read enough to have seen some unusual items used as "money" - woven mats (Samoa), stone discs (Yap), cows (Africa), sea shells (New Guinea). Even our stock market system and government bond are really strange.

Wee these functional knives in any way or just representations? I wonder how they compare to beaver pelts, wampum or jugs of whiskey?:cool:





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It said they were functional. They're unsure how it started, but sometimes they accepted weapons as currency.
 
Thanks for pointing out the knife money and spade money. I forgot to mention that Palau has beads used as money or as objects of value. They are not made anymore and are valuable because they are rare - they may have originally come from Chinese shipwrecks. I also taught in Papua New Guinea, where the unit of currency "kina" is named after a sea shell and that is produced as a coin with a hole in the middle so that it can be put on a string around the owners neck.:cool:
 
I'm pretty sure that's what SAKGUY is going to use as currency instead of gold bullion. Seems smart to me!
 
Weren't there knives and axes made specifically for trade by the Hudson Bay company folks, because the Native Americans placed a lot of value on them? Mid-18th Century, I think.
 
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