On April 19, 1975, Papua New Guinea introduced its own currency, which replaced the previously used Australian currency. This new coin has an interesting relationship with scalp silver, which has long been used in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
While some people's currency is based on dollars and cents, our currency is now based on China and Toea. China is the so-called golden mussel Pinctada maxima in pidgin melanesia. This shell is actually a pearl oyster valve. Toea is a word from the motu axillary language that has long been used by the inhabitants of southern Papua New Guinea.
Our biggest piece is a piece of porcelain worth an Australian dollar. There are pictures of two crocodiles, one on the right is the freshwater species and the other is the saltwater species. But why use a coin instead of a paper bill?
The government has come to the conclusion that the average currency has a much longer lifespan than a banknote. Therefore, significant savings would be achieved by using a single Chinese currency. However, we have Chinese ratings of two, five and ten.
Some people wonder why a Chinese currency has a hole in the middle. This facilitates cheaper production and is known to the people of Papua New Guinea. From 1929 to 1945, a few coins were minted for New Guinea, each with a center hole. Local people often hung them from pieces of fishing line and hung them around their necks. It was the easiest way to use them for those who didn't have pockets in their clothes.
China is made up of one hundred toes, each equal to one Australian cent. There are one, two, five, ten and twenty coins. Everyone has a different and fascinating picture of the wildlife in Papua New Guinea.
The one-toothed coin shows the Birdwing butterfly, one of the largest and most colorful butterflies in the world. The two-fingered coin depicts the image of cod, a fish that often changes color to blend in with danger. A turtle is depicted on five fingers and couscous, a tiny tree-climbing animal, is on the ten-finger piece. On the 20-ton coin is the treasurer, a large bird without a fly.
Although most people use modern currencies, some islanders still use resale money. In Papua New Guinea, for example, the gold or porcelain bowl is converted into currency, polished, and cut into the shape of a crescent moon. A hole is then made at each end of the croissant so that the shells can be compressed and carried through the breast.
Chinese clams were mainly used to pay the bride's price or to buy pigs. They were particularly popular in the mountains.
Toea or shell is also used as currency. These shells are cut from the shell of the trochus and form a bracelet about 2.5 cm wide. Since only one finger can be cut from each trochus shell, they are very expensive. A big one can cost twenty Australian dollars or twenty dollars for China.
The island of Malaita produces scalp silver, which has long been used by the inhabitants of the British Solomon Islands protectorate. There are two main forms called "red money" and "white money". The red piece consists of a cone shell with a red interior and the white piece consists of a white cone shell. Small pieces are cut from these shells and a hole is drilled through them.
Then the pieces of bark are tightened, several red and one white. Six or ten strings together form a piece whose value corresponds to twenty pieces of porcelain. Today, resale money and Australian money are used in the British Solomon Islands.
However, in recent years, islanders have tended to use Australian currencies more and more, although some of the older generations still prefer to keep their assets in the form of resale cash. Now we have a new currency in Papua New Guinea which not only showcases our fascinating wildlife but also reflects our long term use of scalp money.
Great one