St. James's Auctions
Auction 65 21 Sep 2022
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West Africa, Cowrie shells (Cypraea moneta), a linen bank bag stamped "REAL AFRICAN MONEY COWRIES", c. 1900, containing 257 cowrie shells, non-cowrie (2), sold as found (lot)
From a small collection of native, primitive and curious currency. It is understood that the group was formerly in the collection of Howard D. Gibbs (1895-1970) and purchased by him from the dealer Wayte Raymond.
Cowrie shells were often threaded into bracelets or long strings of forty, or packed into pouches to form greater quantities. For large payments, the shells could be tossed into baskets and weighed to determine their value. 40 cowries made 1 string, 50 strings made 1 head (2,000 cowries total), 10 heads made 1 bag (20,000 cowries total).
(Estimate: 65-80 GBP)
From a small collection of native, primitive and curious currency. It is understood that the group was formerly in the collection of Howard D. Gibbs (1895-1970) and purchased by him from the dealer Wayte Raymond.
Cowrie shells were often threaded into bracelets or long strings of forty, or packed into pouches to form greater quantities. For large payments, the shells could be tossed into baskets and weighed to determine their value. 40 cowries made 1 string, 50 strings made 1 head (2,000 cowries total), 10 heads made 1 bag (20,000 cowries total).
(Estimate: 65-80 GBP)