Old bill
Have you ever looked at a note from a far off country and laughed? Currency has manifested itself in a variety of strange and peculiar forms over the years. Let’s take a look at some of the funniest forms of money throughout history.
Salt has long been used as a form of currency throughout the world. The word “salary” is actually derived from The Latin word “salarium”, which was the Roman word for “money used to buy salt.” In fact, salt was the primary currency in East Africa throughout the Middle Ages. Think about that the next time you ask someone to pass the salt.
Unfortunately for squirrels, Russians had taken a liking to trading squirrel pelts during the Middle Ages. Never letting anything go to waste, the Russians used the claws and snouts for pocket change. This odd form of currency may have accidentally benefitted the Russians in a non-economic way as well. During medieval times, Europe was ravaged by the infamous Black Plague, yet Russia wasn’t hit nearly as hard. Since the plague was most often carried by rodents, murdering a bunch of rodents and using their pelts as currency likely reduced the number of plague carriers. Even today, Finland recognizes squirrel pelts as a currency with a value of 3 cents each.
Bronze coins
The Lobi were the ancient inhabitants of Ghana. They lived as farmers and spent most of their time in the fields, where they encountered a variety of snakes. To protect themselves, they forged iron snakes that were either worn on their person or placed on personal altars, just like garlic for scaring off vampires. They were such a focal point of the Lobi culture that the iron snakes were often used in trading and bartering. The bodies of the snakes were often depicted with curves to create the effect of movement as if the snakes were slithering through the grass.
Large bronze blades were early forms of coins and were very common throughout ancient China. Approximately 2,500 years ago, a Chinese prince allowed his troops to use their knives as payment for goods when money was scarce. After the troops began bartering with local villagers, the concept caught on and soon became a standard form of currency. They were most widely used in China during the Zhou Dynasty (between 600 and 200 BC) and were often fitted with ring shapes at one end so that the knives could be carried conveniently on belts and straps – sort of like a change purse.
Rai stone
The largest form of currency in the ancient world was known as the “Rai Stone”. These gargantuan stones were carved from a single piece of limestone. They each had a signature hole in the middle, measured up to 12 feet across, and weighed over 8 tons. Each Rai stone had a story of its own that determined its value. Since the creation of each was such a massive undertaking, the difficulty experienced along the way would increase the value of the stone.
The villagers risked their lives canoeing to a neighboring island where limestone could be found. Then the disks had to be carved and painstakingly carried back to the village (again, via canoe). One of the canoes sank once, and the stone that was lost was still a part of the economy. They just recognized the stone as being out in the ocean and “ownership” of it changed. None of the stones ever actually moved since they were so heavy. They just acquired a new owner and remained in the same location.
If a villager died in the process of carving or transporting the stone, which was not uncommon, its value increased. Because of the significant amount of time and effort put into each stone, transfers from one villager to the next could only be done following an elaborate ceremony.
Lastly, the most peculiar form of currency in history – paper. Used by countries around the world, governments print pictures of dead presidents on a piece of paper that people commonly use to buy and sell just about anything. The strangest thing about this funny money is that it is virtually unlimited, with every government in the world printing more and more paper money, putting themselves further and further into debt.