King Manilla, Nigeria
date: label: date made
content: n.d.
notes: label: Description
content: The phrases <i>king manilla, queen manilla</i>, and <i>prince manilla</i>, refer to larger variations of the smaller, more common manilla that was used in everyday exchange in West Africa from at least the fifteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. These phrases were not used in West Africa and no standard description of each object type exists. These manillas are large curved bars in the shape of semi-circle and are typically less curved than the smaller manillas, which resemble an open bracelet. <i>King manillas</i> were made from brass, copper, and iron. They likely served as a store of value rather than a regular medium of exchange. They may have been used in large transactions related to the transatlantic slave trade.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place used
content: Nigeria
label: associated place
content: Nigeria
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: West African Currency
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Chase Manhattan Bank
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.79.112.00316
label: accession number
content: 1979.1263
label: catalog number
content: 79.112.00316
objectType: label: Object Name
content: alternative currency
label: Object Name
content: Manilla, King
label: Other Terms
content: Manilla, King; Africa; Nigeria
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: black/brown (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: cast (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 27.3 cm x 14.5 cm x 4.28 cm; 10 3/4 in x 5 23/32 in x 1 11/16 in