Kissi Iron Penny Currency

Silvery gray, rust in the recesses, and a waver that tells you someone made it by hand.

Made in Sierra Leone in the 20th century, this Kissi penny is a slender iron rod that served as currency. The Kissi and their neighbors valued these pieces in everyday trade as well as in bride-wealth and other social payments. Ten and a quarter inches long, with an upright T-shaped end on one side and a rounded, leaf-like paddle on the other, joined by a softly twisted shaft.

You can see the smith’s hand in it. That is the best a coin can offer.