Kissi Forged Iron Penny Currency

Twenty inches of iron, once used to buy things, and in bundles, to marry.

The Kissi peoples of Sierra Leone forged this length, called a Kissi penny, in the 20th century. Such rods circulated as money across parts of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, and were used in bundles for bride wealth and other important exchanges.

One end is hammered into a small, rounded disc, and the other spreads into a flat, T-shaped blade. A stretch of twisting near the disc gives way to a plain shaft. The surface is an even rust brown, with the smith’s hammer marks still visible.

Money you could see being made.