TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities

"Altering The Way You View The World Of Art"
Type of Object:          
    Kissi Penny  

    On the list of bizarre world currencies, Liberia/Sierra Leon’s kissi penny
    is a perennial favorite. The Kissi used these strangely shaped metal
    pieces as currency for more than a hundred years.  The kissi is a twisted
    length of iron that presents a “wing” shape on one end with two points on
    the opposite ends. Created in Mandingo villages, these artifacts were
    used as currency beginning in the early 1800's. Although little has been
    written about the derivation of the shape, a commonly held belief is that
    the wings are difficult to tamper with, which deters counterfeiting and
    renders it virtually impossible to "shave" or alter the amount of metal in
    them without the tampering becoming immediately obvious. Larger
    "denominations" were often made by twisting several pieces together
    and securing with leather strips. If one of them became legitimately
    broken, its value could only be restored in a special ceremony conducted
    by a shaman. Therefore, it was said to have a "soul." In earlier times,
    marriges among the Gbande were confirmed with a kissi penny. Once
    part of the bride price had been paid, the groom placed a kissi penny on
    his bride's head and said THIS IS MY WIFE."   

    These long, thick iron wires, usually between 12 and 15 inches long, were
    traded throughout Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. With the exception
    of Guinea, kissi pennies were still in use in the 1970s.

    Although they were no longer accepted for tax payments beginning in
    1940, kissi pennies are still used for cult ritual.  Generally speaking, in
    mid 1800s West Africa, a cow would cost about 1,000 kissis, a slave
    about 5,000 kissis, and a goat about 250.

Ethnic Group:       
    Kissie Society
                       Toma Society
    Bande Society
    Kpelle Society
    Loma Society

Country of Origin:          
                                 Western Guinea and Sierra Leone, Liberia

Material:                  
                       Iron     

Deminsions:      
    12" to 18"
      
Reference:       
    The Artistry of African Currency Exhibit
       
    Quiggin, Alison Hingston.  A SURVEY OF PRIMITIVE MONEY: THE
    BEGINNINGS OF CURRENCY. Reprint. London: Spink & Son, 1978         
    plate1
        
    Peter Westerdijk, Curator. African Metal Implements Weapons, Tools,
    and Regalia. Collection of Frederick & Claire Mebel, Hillwood Art Gallery,
    Long Island University, New York 1984. Pgs 48. p10#8a,8b
        
    Opitz, Charles J.  ODD AND CURIOUS MONEY: DESCRIPTIONS AND
    VALUES. Second Edition. Ocala, FL: First Impressions Printing, 1991.    
    p59
         
    Karl-Ferdinand Schoedler, Earth and Ore, 2500 Years of African Art in
    Terra-cotta and Metal. Panterra Verlag 1997. Pgs 369 and maps.         
    p326#630
        
    Claudia Zaslavsky, Africa Counts: Number and Pattern in Africa Culture,
    Prindle, Weber & Schmidt, 1973. p77 figure 74
        
    Money You Don't Tuck In Your Wallet. p51