Traditional African money is often made of shells. This one consists of the shell of a land snail living in the Congo. The shells are broken into more or less equal-sized pieces, pierced and strung together. The strings, called musanga, cannot be used as adornment because of the sharp edges and s...

This ring bar money developed from arm or legbands, but on account of its form and weight (more than two kilogram!) it is no longer usable as jewelry. It was used as money for its metal value. Such brass bars were used as means of payment in many parts of Africa until the mid-20th century. This p...

This knife money has a long history and a wide geographical distribution. It was initially used in the region of modern Sudan. Today it is commonly called trombash, even though this was only one of its names (others were dadjata, dagata or shongo).

Trombash was originally used as a throwi...

This is bangala iron money. It is also known as "mbili Ngbaka," as "money of the Ngbaka." It is unclear whether it developed from a hoe of a spear. A typical feature of bangala is the little pellet-like buckle at the top and the two small wings on the side that are at an angle of 90 degrees to th...

This oversize spearhead is totally useless as a weapon, of course. It appears in sizes from 40 to 200 centimeters; ours measures 168 centimeters. The material is soft and thin. Only a cast middle ridge gives the blade some stability.

Such spearheads are called liganda and produced by the ...

Bolokos are U-shaped copper bars with saucer-shaped feet. They were produced by the Nkutsbu people in Congo and circulated as money among them and their neighboring tribes.

Bolokos were mainly used to buy living creatures. One boloko had about the same value as a male goat. As bride price...