![Brooklyn Museum 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Brooklyn_Museum_2006.67.24_Bundle_of_Pennies.jpg)
Kissi penny, also seen transcribed as kissy or kisi penny or known as guenze, koli, and kilindi, was an
iron currency made in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
that circulated widely in the immediate vicinity of its production among
Gbandi
Gbandi (or Bandi, Bande, Gbande, Gbunde) is an ethnic group of Liberia. It is also the language traditionally spoken by these people.
Famous Gbandi Personalities:
Dr. Stephen A. Yekehson - Late ( professor and president of the University of Lib ...
(Bandi),
Gola,
Kissi,
Kpelle,
Loma,
Mandinka and
Mende and other people of
Liberia,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, and
Guinea-Conakry
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
.
Origin
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. Iron working had developed in the region by ca. 600 B.C.E. and was of extremely high-quality. Even in the
Early modern period, West African iron and steel easily exceeded the quality of European steel. However, the relative lack of fuel available meant that West African iron was expensive compared to European iron.
Portuguese records indicated that sailing voyages in the early sixteenth century carried iron bars among the trade good going farther north. During the period of the slave trade in the region, iron bars were a standard of payment and wealth. There is no reason to believe that these items were shaped as the kissi penny was. Rather it seems that the currency began being manufactured in the specific form of the kissi penny around 1880.
Circulation
Thanks to the trading and nautical activities of the people of the region, especially the
Kru
KRU was a Malaysian pop boy band formed in 1992. The group comprises three brothers, namely Datuk Norman Abdul Halim, Datuk Yusry Abdul Halim and Edry Abdul Halim'. Apart from revolutionising the Malaysian music scene with their blend of pop ...
kissi pennies circulated widely along the coast of
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...
. Historical records do not note the use of this currency before the last years of the nineteenth century (c. 1880) and they continued in use as money until gradually replaced by colonial currencies, but as late as 1940 in Sierra Leone and even as late as the 1980s in Liberia.
Production
![Guinze-Monnaies-Musée des Confluences](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Guinze-Monnaies-Mus%C3%A9e_des_Confluences.jpg)
Kissi pennies were made by smiths in the form of long rods, with a "T" on one end (called ''nling'' or "ear"), and a sort of blade, not unlike a hoe on the other end (called ''kodo'' or "foot"). They ranged in length from about 6 (15 cm) to as long as 16 inches (40 cm). A score of oranges could be bought for two, or a bunch of bananas. 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 bride price might be 200 bundles, and slaves, while the domestic slave trade was still working, might sell for 300 bundles.
Religious use
Even after they were discontinued for use as currency, kissi pennies continued to be employed in the society of the region, for example, as tokens of completing rituals in the
Poro
The Poro, or Purrah or Purroh, is a men's secret society in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mane people. It is sometimes referred to as a hunting society and only males are admitted to its ranks. The femal ...
and
Sande Societies; as
bridewealth
Bride price, bride-dowry ( Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride do ...
, and also to be placed on tombs and graves, where they were believed to channel the souls of the dead. At some point, the currency acquired spiritual aspects, perhaps because of its use in graves, and as a result, when a penny broke it was considered without value until a Zoe, or religious practitioner, repaired it in a special ceremony. It was this feature that led to it being called "money with a soul."
["Kissi Money or "Money with a Soul" http://www.liberiapastandpresent.org/kissi.htm]
European travelers regarded them as a curious form of primitive money, and as a result many were collected and deposited in museums. They continue to be sold on art and curio markets, as well as among
numismatist
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
s to the present day.
See also
*
Cowry
Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') d ...
*
Katanga Cross, a similar currency used in Central Africa
*
Manilla (money)
Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa.Chamberlain, C. C.(1963). The Teach Yourself ''Guide to Numismatics''. English Universities Press. p. 92. They were produced in large numbe ...
References
Bibliography
{{Commons category, Kissi penny
*Béavogui, Facinet (2000). "Circulation monétaire en l'Afrique de l'Ouest: Le cas du ''guinzé'' (Guinėe, Liberia)," in Yasmine Marzouk, Christian Seignobos, François Sigaut, eds. ''Outils aratoires en Afrique: innovations, normes et traces''. Paris: Karthala, pp. 175–190.
*Bunot, Raoul (1943). "Une monnaie de l'AOF le guinzé," ''Notes africaines'' 18: 2-3.
*Germann, Paul (1933) ''Die Volkesstämme in Norden von Liberia.'' Leipzig.
*Portières, Roland (1960). "La monnaie de fer dans l'ouest Africa au XX e siècle," ''Recherches africaines (Études guineénes)'', NS, 4: 3-13.
*Suret-Canale, Jean (1960). "A propos des guinzé en Guinée," ''Recherches africaines (Études guinéenes)'' NS, 2-3: 32-37.
Currencies of Africa
Economic history of Sierra Leone