kissi-penny

Kissi (or Kisi) penny made from a rough strip or rood of iron, twisted along the central section. One end characteristically ends in a bent T-shape, the other a flattened oval.

The Kissi penny was a form of currency used particularly in Sierra Leone and Liberia, though circulated along the whole coast of West Africa and Central Africa. Though iron was used as a trade good across the region, the Kissi penny is first recorded as being in circulation from 1880.

Collection Information

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