[OPE] Kauri shells

Quick Google:

 Long before the first irregularly shaped Chinese coins, which most people
never had anyway, people used to pay by shells in the Empire. The oldest
reports are of paying by peculiar shells called Kauri, this dates back three
and half thousand years ago. A very interesting memory of these shells still
exists in China. When the Chinese writing system was developed much later,
the Kauri shell became the symbol and graphic sign standing for money. It is
also of interest that Kauri shells became the means of payment not only in
China but also in India, where they were used from the 10th to the 18th
century. Then it was in Thailand in the 17th century and also in some places
in Africa in the 19th century.
http://www.praha.eu/jnp/en/visitors/leisure_activities/the_time_when_people_used_to_pay_by_shells.html

Shell money wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_money

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Received on Tue Jun 9 01:42:38 2009