The sun., 1902-03-09
USING OTHER FOLRSs MONEY
Forcign Currency That Circuiates Amonr
People Who Have Not Enough of Their Own

| Te"po WI" "aNe Not tnOuEn OF Their Own,
Quite a number Of coins circulate in a far
wider territory than that for which thew
were originally intended. The silver rlpe,
OF India, worth about 4s cents in our money.
Is found thousands of miles from it's natiy.
home. The traveller who stops at any OF
the ports along the Straits Of Malacca or in
any of the civilized settlements Of Sumatra
will find the rupee as prevalent there as in
India itself. Rupees have been scattered
through the Malayan Archipelago. As they
are found wherever Indian traders go they
have wide circulation along the east coast
of Africa from the Gulf OF Alden to the south
| Of the 2ambesi River There are rupee.
In plenty at a score OF coast towns
stretching for 500 miles along this coast
Rupees may be found at many places two
or three hundred miles inland. where Arab
traders have dealings with Indian rner-
chants Of the coast.
The rupee illustrates the conditions un-
der which the small change Of one country
| may come to be used in other regions
A great many Indian coolies. merchants
and few travellers are constantly passing
| between East Africa and India Not a few
| commodities Of East Africa are sont 10
Bombay for shipment 10 Europe. Every
body carries rupees to and fro. Rupees
are the most convenient and easily OBJ
tanned money for use in the East African
trade and they therefore flow into the con-
tinent.
Many Of our silver dollars fulfil a useful
function as a circulating medium in the
most western countries of Africa including
Sierra Leone, Liberia and even part OF tho
Slave Coast. They are accepted at their
face value and are welcomed as a part ~
the currency. Our silver coins may I've
found, to some extent, as far north in British
America as the Canadian coins, and in many
parts Of Canada they have been received
without any question.
All along the north coast Of South Amer-
lea from the Guianas to Colombia both
Mexican and United States silver coins
are found 10 a very considerable extent.
Not a few United States and Mexican silver
dollars also get into the trade OF the western
islands Of the Pacific including Samoa.
Tonga and many other groups. Samoa
appears TO be on the boundary line which
separates the circulation of North Amerl-
can coined silver TO the west, from ths
groups to the east where the Chilean silver
dollar Is found In considerable quanti-
ties. Both the United States and Mexican
SILVER uOlldT II sum stiy
throughout the whole Of eastern China
from Manchuria to Canton, its Use extending
from the coast some 800 or 400 miles I'M
land. We long ago stopped minting the
trade dollar for the Asian money markets;
but the Mexicans, who wish TO secure every
possible outlet for their enormous produce
ton Of silver, still mint dollars specially
for the Asian trade
A.a In tho Marta
Theresa dollar has had, for a great many
years. a very large circulation throughout
the whole OF Northeast Africa. II COM
petes with the rupee throughout the entire
part Of East Africa where the rupee has
gained a foothold. But from Abyssinia
in the east across the Sudan almost
70 the Niger River in the west and then
through the desert oases TO the coasts OF
the Mediterranean II holds undisputed
sway. The most western point on tho
Mediterranean where this dollar is in i'm
porant use is at Gabes in the southern pa.t
Of Tunis Early in the last century great
quantities OF Maria Theresa dollars we're
already distributed throughout the vast
area from the middle Sahara to the east
coast OF Arabia and to day. except in Egypt.
II is still the most prevalent coin. Foreign
coin is not now accepted in Egypt except
at a heavy discount Abyssinia has re-
Gently begun TO circulate coins minted for
its special use. the Menelek dollar being
the unit of value. 1t remains to be seen
what effect the new coin will have on
circulation Of the Maria Theresa dollar
which has long been the current coin Of that,
country.
The most curious form Of money still
mt is tha
cowrey shell. 1t is stlll imported 20 tho
West African coasts from Grand Bassam
on the Gulf Of Guinea, eastward to Bonnv
which lies on the eastern edge of the Niger
delta. II figures in the trade with the
native tribes throughout the vast interior
as far north as Timbuktu on the edge Of
the Sahara. as far west as Bamako, the
French post on the upper Niger, and as
far east as Lake Tchad, II is known ss
the money cowrey or CyprG moretd.
a small shell about half an inch long, white
and straw colored without and blue within.
1t is most abundant in the Indian Ocean
and is collected on the beaches Of many
of the islands particularly in the Maldivs
group, in Ceylon. in Borneo and along The
Malabar coast While il is still used among
barbarous peoples OF the East Indies 20
some extent it has never had such prev
alenCe as in western Africa because It's
value has always been very much higher
there than in any other region using II.
The quantities Of cowrey shell now in West
Africa are so enormous that il is no longer
very profitable To import il, but before
the abolition Of the slave trade great
business was carried on in loading vessels
with cowrey shells in the East Indies, taxi
ing them TO English ports and reshipping
them 20 the Slave Coast. The profits wers
often 500 per cent on the shiploads OF
cowrey shells dumped on the coasts Of
West Africa. Barth told. more than half a
century ago, of Kings who collected all
their taxes in cowrey shells. The annual
revenue Of one King was estimated al 30
900 900 shells, every full-grown man h"ns
required to pay yearly 600 shells for him
self, 900 for evers pack OK and 1000 for
every slave he owned
The shells are fastened together on tho
coast In strings Of forty to one hundred each
and twenty 70 fifty Of these strings repre-
sent dollar in value. OF course money OF
this sort is very heavy 10 carry and II reaiiy
represents legitimate value because