Ngbaka Mbili or Spear Head Currency

It looks like a spear and it spent its working life as money. The Ngbaka saw no contradiction.

This mbili, or spear head currency, was hammered from forged iron in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 20th century. Among the Ngbaka and their neighbors, large iron forms like it were used as currency and in important exchanges such as bridewealth. The broad blade is shaped like a pointed arch, with a raised spine down its center and a small knob at the tip. At each lower corner, a small barbed point turns outward. A slender tang carries it all.

The surface is warm rust-brown. Just over twenty-one inches tall on its stand. Hang it low, and nobody will mistake it for a prop.