Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1899 — Whale Tooth Coin. [ARTICLE]

Whale Tooth Coin.

Whales’ teeth form the coinage of the Fiji Islands. They are painted white and red, the red teeth being worth about twenty times as much as the white. The native carries his wealth round his neck, the red and white of his coinage forming a brilliant contrast to his black skin. A common and curious sight in the Fiji Islands is a newly married wife presenting her husband with a dowry of whales’ teeth.