Cowrie Shells: Money From the Sea

How cowrie shells from the Maldives served as small change in parts of India and across Africa and Asia for centuries, and why they worked as money.

For small everyday purchases, many parts of the world, including Bengal and Odisha, used cowrie shells as money for centuries.

Where cowries came from

Most cowries came from the Maldives, where they were gathered in large numbers and shipped across the Indian Ocean.

Why cowries worked

Durable: shells don’t rot.
Hard to counterfeit.
Uniform in size.
Easy to count.
Small value: ideal for tiny purchases like vegetables, when coins were too valuable.

Cowries in Bengal

Records show cowries were used in Bengal for small transactions well into the colonial period. Exchange rates linked cowries to copper and silver coins, with thousands of cowries equal to a silver rupee.

Cowries in Africa

Cowries shipped from the Maldives via Indian and European traders became money in West Africa, where they were tragically used in the Atlantic slave trade. Large imports of cowries eventually caused inflation in cowrie value.

Decline

Colonial governments introduced copper coins for small change and phased out cowries in the 19th century.

Economic lesson

Almost anything can serve as money if people accept it as a medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. Supply matters: flooding a region with cowries reduced their value.

The vegetable purchase

In 18th-century Bengal, a woman buys vegetables at the market and pays with a handful of cowrie shells, since a silver coin would be far too valuable for such a small purchase.

Thinking money must be made of metal

Shells served as money for centuries because they were durable, countable and accepted.

Key takeaways

Cowrie shells from the Maldives served as small change across Asia and Africa.
They were durable, countable and hard to counterfeit.
Bengal used cowries for small transactions into the colonial period.
Large imports caused cowrie inflation in West Africa.