COWRY SHELLS.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.
Top row: Cypraea exanthema (Half grown.) Cypraea exanthema (Young). Cypraea exanthema (Florida). Second row: Trivia solandri (California). Cypraea annulus (Indian Ocean). Third row: Cypraea erosa (Indian Ocean). Cypraea lurida (Mediterranean Sea). Fourth row: Cypraea spadicea (California). Cypraea moneta (Philippines). Fifth row: Cypraea talpa (Pacific Ocean). Cypraea mus (Europe). Cypraea histrio (Indian Ocean).
In habits the Cowries are shy and they are slow in movement, sliding over the coral reefs and marine vegetation with a sluggish, steady motion. They present a beautiful sight when viewed through the water, their brilliant colors vying with those of corals, sea anemones and sea weeds. They are said to feed principally upon the coral animals.
From very ancient times the smaller Cowries have been used for adornment or barter. The Cypraea annulus, or ringed cowrie, which was found by Dr. Layard in the ruins of Nimroud, is said to be the same species which is now used by the islanders of the Indian and Pacific Oceans to weight their fish nets and to adorn their persons. In western Africa the money cowry (Cypraea moneta) has been and is now used as a medium of exchange in place of gold. Many tons were yearly shipped to England from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, to be again carried to Africa to barter with the natives for ivory and other articles.
The number of Cowries which have been given for various articles, with their value in American currency, is interesting. Thus it is recorded by the Conchologist Reeve that a gentleman residing at Cuttack in India paid for the building of his bungalow entirely in Cowries, giving over sixteen million specimens. The value of these Cowries was four thousand rupees sicca in Indian money, or about two thousand dollars in American money. In another place it is recorded that a young wife cost from sixty thousand to one million Cowries, or from about nineteen dollars to thirty-seven dollars, while an ordinary wife cost but twenty thousand shells or about six dollars.
The value of Cowries varies in different countries. In India five or six thousand may be purchased for one rupee, while in parts of Africa two hundred Cowries are worth sixteen cents. In Sudan, two thousand Cowries, which weigh about seven pounds, are worth one dollar. On the west coast of Africa, where trading in Cowries is largely carried on, the following gradation of value is recorded by Dr. Stearns:
40 Cowries = 1 string.
2½ strings = 1 pence.
100 Cowries = 1 pence.