Coins and notes aren’t the only things that have been used as currency to purchase goods and services around the world.
Before notes, coins, credit cards, Paypal and Bitcoins were used to pay for stuff, people had to come up with other systems. Usually, the system was based on a commodity that everyone in that society agreed was valuable in some way, and then people could trade it among themselves.
While most of these strange currencies aren’t in use anymore, some are when there’s a temporary crisis or the normal way of paying for things can’t be maintained.
If you’re a bit short on cash, you might have some of these things around your house.
Unfortunately, you can’t use them as legal tender in Australia, but at least you can dream and feel a little bit richer.
1. Rum
Australia’s very first currency was rum. Why isn’t that surprising?
When our nation was first colonised, soldiers were paid in rum and it was widely used to purchase goods and services with throughout the colony.
2. Fish
After a smoking ban was introduced in US Federal prisons in 2004, the inmates came up with a new version of prison currency: fish.
Mackerel to be precise. Plastic and foil pouches are exchanged for goods and services among prisoners. They can’t use cans, because they were able to make those into weapons.
3. Knives
Knives were issued as a form of legal currency from 600 to 200 BC in the Qi state, in north-east China.
They were often inscribed to mark their value. This form of money was abolished when China was unified under the first emperor Qin Shi Huang who introduced new-fangled round coins with a square hole in the middle.
4. Bottle caps
A brewery in Cameroon in 2005 printed prizes under the caps of beer bottles in an effort to boost its sales. Soon, rival companies got in on the act, which meant there were prizes under almost every single bottle cap.
The prizes ranged from sports cars to free beer. A winning cap was worth about $1 – the same price as a bottle of beer. This resulted in people exchanging bottle caps instead of money for goods and services.
5. Shells
Shells have been used as currency since the dawn of time.
Examples are known of shells being used in countries all over the world, from Europe and Asia to Africa. They were often exchanged for goods and services. Some parts of the Solomon Islands still use shell money today.
