Kissi Iron Penny Currency

Pay in rods, please. The bride’s family will count them.

Rods like this were money in the Kissi region of Sierra Leone, used in bridewealth payments and other exchanges of value. This one is twisted iron, 20th century, eleven and a half inches long. The spiraled shaft runs almost perfectly straight. A small flattened crossbar finishes one end; the other closes in a compact, lumpy knob with a rough surface. Deep brown iron, silvery along the twists.

Lay it on a table or hang it on a wall. Either way it is the straightest thing in the room.