Money For The faking

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 153, 29 June 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

Money For The faking

By - - A. W. B. Potoell

IN caves once occupied by European prehistoric man there have been found certain tropical shells that must have had their origin in < the' Red Sea. r Earlylegends and fragments of later history indicate that these shells, which were of the well-known tropical cowry type, were greatly treasured by the ancients as objects of reverence. These shells were cherished as symbols of good omen, and in particular they iwere used as fertility and regeneration charms. : The Egyptians placed them in graves to ensure the continuance of a deceased's existence, thus signifying not only life, ■ but also resurrection. And so a mere shell by becoming, an object of aesthetic ..appeal has influenced the affairs of mar. for countless ages— from those cowry . shells, treasured by the prehistoric men of Europe, has gradually developed our present monetary system. ' . Cowry Shell Money . To obtain the cherished cowry shells the ancients had to barter quantities of goods and cattle, "and .so these shells came to have definite exchange values. Cowry shell currency thus originated, and became the trading medium of the peoples of India and equatorial Africa for thousands of years. Up till the. middle of last century the money cowry, which is a small white species about three-quarters of an inch long, was in general use in India. It was fished in countless thousands at the Maldive Islands, Ceylon, along the Malabar ..Coast, and as far east as Borneo, In Bengal these cowry shells were regular tender, being rated at' 3800 tn the rupee, then equivalent to two

shillings. There is.: a story of ai Englishman resident in Bengal about 1820, who paid or the erection of his bungalow entirely in cowry, shells. Tht sum involved was- 4000 rupees, and tht number of shells necessary. for.the.tran : saction was 16 -million. -"•'.•../.;. ;.!';, : " v. Manv other kinds./ofr'stieli-'nioney an known!-but thev have no: bearing on the cowry / shell .currency,; for in all. cases they are .manufactured articles, th( labour and finish bestowed upon the/pro duct contributing largely to its jvorth A well known example of manufacture shell-money was the "wampum" of th< North American Indians. It consisted of strings of neat cylindrical beads worked from clam shells, and the valui ranged according.to finish from 9d t( 1/6 per yard. "Wampum" Depreciation -In .most of the transaction's betweei the Indian trappers and the Hudson Baj Fur Company "wampum" shell monej was used, but by 1562 its use was discontinued owing to depreciation of tin currency caused by wholesale manufacture of. the money by Europeans aidec by superior grinding and drilling equipment.. ';■••• :'.-.'-' The Californian and Alaskan Indians had an ingenious form of money termed "Allicochick," which consisted of strings of a small tubular shell, which was obtained with great difficulty from moderately water off Vancouver. Theii highest denomination was the "ligua,' equal to £50, -and it consisted ; of ' s minimum of 25 shells to the fathom Since the individual shells had to be oi abnormal size to achieve this, the;ligua was regulated by nature, and the cur-

rency could, not ■De w muiiy uopf eciaiw. Califoriiian Indians at" one time had a series of standard graduation tattooed upon the forearm in order to readily calculate the values of individual alhcoehicfc shells. .-'-'. Melanesian "Money" . \ The Melanesians had. their shell money also, and it consisted Of worked - and drilled discs' of shell strung together in lengths. Values were determined. by lengths and colour, the highest _ priied • being made from two species of bivalves of a bright red colour. -■ The two most remarkable forms of money are the red feather currency of Santa Cruz Islands and the huge stone dis&'-of the island of Yap, in the Carolines.' Bed'feather money is made from . the scarlet breast 1 feathers of a small honey eaten v Only.. a- few of the red feathers are found on each bird—the birds snared .with a form of bird ■lime and then/-liberated so that they may grow new feathers. The Yap stone coins vary in size from about 18in to 10ft or lift, They are like stone wheels",:having an axle hole so that they can be moved by placing a.wooden bar through the hole. .Of true metal coins there is great variety also, but I have restricted this account to those forms, of money that are based'upon natural history material.

Peter Simple's Ppsers __'■. (Answers on-Page '*.);;;i 1.-•'• Old Poserians (and young.J.ones, too) should npt take two secondfi ; ;,tp; say which they would prefer—''dozen dozen apples or a quarter-dozen";jdozen apples. -~.'■ ■■-'." '.-.;■ 2. As you dance "'Neath the Spread-' ing Chestnut Tree" have you>' ever thought who wrote the original about - the village. blacksmith ? ,-'%':•? 3. Do you remember how nicotine ■ was so called? . .;..;-' , 4. What colour is. magenta ?-•-;' / '■_ 5. What do people mean-when they refer to "fourth dimension" film experiments? .... , ■/ . /.-.- 6. What kind of acid.is contained in the juice of such fruits as lemons? 7. In what part of what city is Mayfair? ' 8. What is (sabotage, and how did it get that name? 9. Sometimes you hear an entertainment (mostly, these days, in the country) as a salmagundi night. What is that? ' 10. What are one's "salad days J" 11. What is meant, in the language of popular music, by "plugging a melody?" 12. On what island do the survivors of the Bounty mutineers live 13. The first Governor of Australia —Captain Hunter, Captain Phillip, Captain King? 14. What is the most popular marching tune in the British Army? 15. What was the most' popular marching song in the British Army in the Great War? -," 16. What was the best known marching song in the American Civil War? . 17. The title of another famous '-. marching song of the American Civil ■;•; War is contained in the three words omitted.- from ■ these tw,o lines: So we'.. sang .the chorus from Atlanta to the sea, While we were : — —— 18. What English ruler -was personified by a great poet as Gloriana? 19. What Englishman said to the artist .who .was painting his-portrait: "Paint me warts and all?*