It was inevitable that cowry forms would be made of other types of shell. This appears to be a piece of mother-of-pearl type shell that may come from an abalone shell. These appear to be a scarcer type and are not seen often. These type of imitation cowries are mentioned in archeological records notably by Nishimura & Gibson. Theirs was discovered in Yin-hsu in An-Yang, it was made of fresh water mollusk; this one is probably salt-water.
37 x 25 x 3 mm
Moneta Library has articles on Cowries to VIEW and DOWNLOAD:
The Worlds's First Money, Chinese Cowries and Their Imitations - by Ted Puls: The Worlds Oldest Money Cowries Ted Puls
Cowries - Bob Reis: COWRIES Reis
Origin of Cowries in Ancient China - UofPa: Origin of Cowries in Ancient China
Metallic Cowries - Royal Asiatic Society: Metallic Cowries - Royal Asiatic Society
Nice Video on Cowrie history: http://tinyurl.com/CowrieVideo
An excellent article in ANA's "Numismatist" magazine, Oct 2017 > http://onlinedigitalpublishing.com/publication/?i=440085&ver=html5&p=40
SEE how far back in time decorative sea shells were important to prehistoric man at his : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505163021.htm
Interested in Primitive Money? Then check out this YouTube video created by Kagins Auctions featuring Bob Leonard and Charles Opitz upon the massive sale in March 2021. Click this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MIKxfbAaZg
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