African Forged Iron Sword Currency, Based

Money, once, had a point. Several feet of one.

In parts of Central and West Africa, iron was forged into blades and bars that held wealth and changed hands in marriage payments and other weighty transactions. This 20th-century sword currency stands nearly five feet on its stand. A long blade tapers to a point, divided by a slender ridge nearly end to end. At the base it flares into small winged projections. The surface is a soft gray-brown, pitted and textured by age.

It makes a banker’s argument for the narrow corner.