Watch List notes:

BRITISH WEST AFRICA: LOT of 128 "kissi pennies ", twisted iron rods with flattened ends, made by the Toma of Guinea and used by them and the Kissi of Liberia, see Opitz page 179, Quiggin page 92, some corroded, but a decent group overall, retail value $375, lot of 128 items. West Africans from the region of modern-day Liberia and Sierra Leone have used iron as a trading good and standard of value for a long time as early Portuguese records indicate. It seems that the manufacture of "kissi pennies " as currency began around 1880. Thanks to the trading and nautical activities of the people of the region, especially the Kru people, "kissi pennies " circulated widely along the coast of West and Central Africa. They continued in use as money until gradually replaced by colonial currencies as late as 1940 in Sierra Leone and even as late as the 1980s in Liberia. A score of oranges or bunch of bananas could be bought for 2 "kissi pennies ". Because each one had relatively small value, they were often gathered into bundles (usually of 20). Prices compiled in the early twentieth century, for example, put the cost of a cow at 100 bundles, while a bride's price might be 200 bundles, and slaves, while the domestic slave trade was still working, might sell for 300 bundles. One of the best-known & affordable odd & curious monies.

Estimate: 150-250 USD