Kissi Iron Penny Currency, Based

Before there were wallets, there were rods.

In the Kissi region of Sierra Leone and among its neighbors, long twisted iron rods served as currency, used in bride-wealth and other important exchanges. This is a Kissi penny, forged in the 20th century. One end has a flattened tab, often called the ear. The other has a T-shaped foot. This one is a single slender twisted rod, a small fan-shaped ear at the top and a flat foot at the base, standing seventeen and a half inches on its mount.

The dark gray surface carries the marks of the hammer. Good in company. Group them, and call it a savings plan.