Brass, Antrique Square African Currency Coil, 3 inches Diameter and 6.5 inches Long
SKU: AFM-490
Sale price
$75.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 1 in stock
Description
- Antique brass (or possibly bronze) currency coil, 3-inch diameter, 6.5 inches long
- Found in Nigeria early 1970s It has a lovely soft bronze patina, but if polished it might look more like brass.
- Although the Portuguese started bringing boatloads of metal bracelets, later known as Manillas, to Africa as early as the 1450s, this bronze coil probably arrived concurrently with millefiori trade beads in the 1800s.
- The various copper, brass and bronze bracelets from various European countries entered the local economies as currency for trade before colonial coins or paper money became available.
- Metal bracelets and similar items were finally official discontinued as legal tender in Nigeria in 1948 according to Charles Opitz, chronicler of ethnographic money.
- It's a nice find for a collector, but I can also see many possibilities for artists...