PRIMITIVE MONEY of AFRICA - KISSI TWISTS (also known as Ghissi, Gitzi, Klindis & Kissi Pennies). These long (10 to 15 inches or 25 to 40 cms), thin twisted iron wires, were in common use as money from the late 1800s to just after the French occupation at the end of World War I. The iron was smelted & worked in several Mandingo villages and used by 4 tribes, including the Kissi, Bande, Kpelle & the Loma, who inhabit was is today, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guniea.

They were referred to as 'coins with soul', and if a kissi was broken, it could not circulate until repaired witchdoctor.

The Kissi were usually bundled in groups of 20 or 50 pieces. To give you some idea of the value of these Kissi, imagine, that in the early 1900s, you'd need about 1,000 to buy a bull, 1,500 for a wife and 5,000 to get a good hard working slave.

Older examples show some degree of rust & corrosion, whereas the newer ones are somewhat cleaner.

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Product Details:
NAME: Primitive Money of Africa - Kissi Twists (Ghissi, Gitzi, Klindis, Kissi Pennies)
TYPE: Authentic
MANUFACTURER: Shop
SKU:


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