National Currency Collection
China, 400 BC
Story
Money reflects identity
For many years China used cowry shells as currency. This was a successful international currency, but it lacked any local identity. The Chinese later developed currency that resembled the shapes of tools they used in their agrarian society. The knife-shaped money had rounded ends, each with hole through which one could string a thong. Because such shapes were not comfortable to carry about, they later became round coins with a hole in the middle. These coins were threaded together on strings to form larger, more useful amounts of cash.
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