Kissi Iron Penny Currency

Gracefully drawn out. Nearly eighteen inches, and not a wasted gesture.

This 20th-century iron penny comes from the Kissi of Sierra Leone. Rods like it were exchanged in bundles for bridewealth and trade, and they remain among the best-known forms of traditional West African money. One end opens into a wide, angular fin. Then it narrows along a lightly twisted shaft to a fine, slightly curling tip. A flattened swelling sits partway along. Warm rust brown.

The curl at the end is a flourish. Allow it.