Bailer Shell Money from New Guinea. A shell from the Cymbium nicknamed Melo, Bailer or Moon Shell were used as both ornaments and for trade. These shells would often be holed, as this example, and worn on chest, head, or privates. For value, 20 of these shells would buy a canoe in the Badu tribe. In the Mount Hagen area, the shells were often used in the purchase of a bride with a bride costing upwards of 10 pigs and 5 bailer shells. A bailer shell was worth about one pig, with documentation in 1934 showing that the value of one bailer shell was worth 2 pigs in the highlands.
Bailer Shell Money from New Guinea. A shell from the Cymbium nicknamed Melo, Bailer or Moon Shell were used as both ornaments and for trade. These shells would often be holed, as this example, and worn on chest, head, or privates. For value, 20 of these shells would buy a canoe in the Badu tribe. In the Mount Hagen area, the shells were often used in the purchase of a bride with a bride costing upwards of 10 pigs and 5 bailer shells. A bailer shell was worth about one pig, with documentation in 1934 showing that the value of one bailer shell was worth 2 pigs in the highlands.
0 Comments
0 Shares
552 Views