4180

Heavy "Wife-Buying" Ingot

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Heavy  Wife-Buying  Ingot
SOLD
210.00USD+ buyer's premium (42.00)
This item SOLD at 2021 Mar 12 @ 12:01UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
Lot: 4180
Header:
Title: Heavy "Wife-Buying" Ingot
Description: The Bizon Tribe of East Cameroons made "wife-buying money" in the form of club-shaped iron ingots weighing about 15 pounds; about 30 were required to complete the purchase. According to Stuart Mosher, 1936, p. 51, "These curious potato-masher-like coins were current long before the advent of white men in that country." Shown in Mosher, Fig. 25, and Opitz, p. 141 (there misnamed ensuba, from confusing Mosher's account with the next item).
Low Estimate: 550
High Estimate: 1000
Pedigree Collection: