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Non-Dug Items Used by Soldiers and on the Homefront Misc. Excavated |
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Original West African Copper "Manilla" Slave Currency Bracelet
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Click on an image to enlarge
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Here is an interesting piece of history! This is what is known to collectors as a "Manilla". I borrowed this information from a couple of websites. Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. They were produced in large numbers in a wide range of designs, sizes, and weights. Originating before the colonial period, perhaps as the result of trade with the Portuguese Empire, manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects until the late 1940s and are still sometimes used as decoration on arms, legs and around the neck. In popular culture, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade. Copper was the "red gold" of Africa and had been both mined there and traded across the Sahara by Italian and Arab merchants. The early Portuguese explorers of the 1470s observed that copper bracelets and leg-bands were the principal money all along the west African coast. They were usually worn by women to display their husband's wealth. The Portuguese crown contracted with manufacturers in Antwerp and elsewhere to produce crescent rings with flared ends of wearable size which came to be called "manilla," after the Latin manus (hand) or from monilia, plural of monile (necklace). This one is in nice excavated condition with a pretty greenish patina. It measures 2-3/8ths inches by 2-1/4th inches in overall size. It is in fine shape.
Item #: C4645 Shipping Weight:
0.4 lb
Your Price:$95.00 USD
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