Moneta
Registered: August 2005
Location: Arizona USA
Posts: 2,350
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ZHOU: Anonymous, 1000-700 BC, silvered AE cowrie (6.09g), H-1, silvered bronze imitation cowrie shell money, usual encrustation, EF, ex Dr. Dirk Löer Collection. Cowrie shells, in Chinese called bèi, were used as money probably since around 2000 BC, from the Shang dynasty up through the Zhou dynasty. The cowries were an intelligent solution to make "small money" because they were collected in seas far south of China and only kings could afford to import them. Furthermore natural shells were impossible to counterfeit. Later imitations were made of various materials: bone, stone, jade, clay, bronze, and even silver and bronze with gold plating. [Steve Album Auction site for photo and text].
After many years of collecting these this is the first silver covered bronze cowrie I have ever seen (rather than plated or solid). So this is a borrowed photo to ensure I have the most complete Museum of cowries and their imitations on the web.
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