The stone currency of the isle of Yap

The Atlas of Curiosities: Part 6

While in the state of Yap we were shown the remarkable form of currency used by the local population since antiquity.  Giant stone disks, crafted on Yap or on neighboring islands are valued not only based on their mass, but on their age and history.  Strangely, the money often changes hands without being moved, as it would take over twenty men to lift a single coin.  In past ages, we were told, the giant monies were moved by canoe, though today they are largely stationary.

Producing a coin from our treasury to show our host, we were met with laughter. “That is your great wealth?” he gasped. “That?”

Inquiring about the history of our coin, he was concerned to find that we could not tell him who the previous owners were, nor where the thing was made or during the reign of which ruler.

The island of Yap is located in the Pacific Ocean between Guam and Palua and is now a rather popular tourist destination. It is known for it’s incredible beauty and the amazing amount of marine life, especially manta rays, which are found off its coast. Scuba diving is very popular for visiting tourists. Although the dollar is the currency most accepted on the island, it was not always this way. Originally, large stone disks, some measuring up to 12 feet in diameter and weighing hundreds, or thousands, of pounds, made up the money system. What is even more interesting is that these huge discs are not native to the island. Instead, warriors and explores had to travel, by canoe, 300 miles away to neighboring Palua. There, primitive tools were used to hew the stones from a quarry, where they were perilously carried back to the island. The larger the stone, and the more dangerous the voyage it was carried on, the more valuable it is. For obvious reasons, the stone money was not carried around, but was mostly kept in large deposits, similar to banks. Individual ownership of each rock was, and still is, well known to natives on the island, and news of their transactions quickly spreads. In the mid eighteen hundreds, an Irish-American trader and adventurer, 
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Ive never visited this site before - glad I found it. Love the illustration, and this is such a quirky, interesting story! I love reading useless (no offence) stories and facts that I will probably never use, but retain nontheless! I hope there is more like this elsewhere on the site. Keep up the good work

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