TXMC on Nostr: "When exploring parties penetrated to Long Island Sound, they found along its coasts ...
"When exploring parties penetrated to Long Island Sound, they found along its coasts tribes of Indians far more civilized than those who had been met farther north. The cause or indication of their superiority was that they had a circulating medium.
These beads and belts, called wampum, were used by the Indians themselves as money, and were real money. The colonists began to use it first for exchanges with the Indians, and then amongst themselves. It was first made legal tender only in Massachusetts, but by custom it became the prevailing currency of the region.
The white man also proved his superiority by counterfeiting it."
-A History of American Currency, 1874
These beads and belts, called wampum, were used by the Indians themselves as money, and were real money. The colonists began to use it first for exchanges with the Indians, and then amongst themselves. It was first made legal tender only in Massachusetts, but by custom it became the prevailing currency of the region.
The white man also proved his superiority by counterfeiting it."
-A History of American Currency, 1874