Numismatic Puzzle: Melanesian Boar’s Tusk

This is a boar’s tusk. On a group of islands east of Australia, wealth is traditionally quantified using pigs as a unit of measurement. Circular boar’s tusks are still used as bride price or atonement money – and they even adorn the national flag of Vanuatu.

If you want to know more about boar’s tusks and other traditional forms of payment, read the second part of our article “Money in other societies”.