Topic summary
Cowrie shells
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cowrie.
Monetary use
Cowrie shells, especially Monetaria moneta, were used for centuries as currency by native Africans. (The money cowrie was almost impossible to counterfeit until the late 19th century.) Starting more than 3000 years ago, cowrie shells or their copies were used as Chinese currency. They were also used as means of exchange in India.