Note 126 — Chapter V

Cowries, it must be remembered, are merchandise, and the price varies accordingly: at present they are abundant, and therefore cheap. The dollar (4s. 6d.) now buys 2½ heads at Whydah and at Agbome, 3 heads and 20 strings at Lagos and at Abeokuta. The head, therefore, once worth a dollar, whence its name, now represents in Dahome 1s. 9½d., and the string, 1½d. and a fraction; whilst 8 cowries are equal to a cent. There are a number of names for this shell-coin amongst the natives, beginning with a unit and ending with tens of thousands. Indeed high numbers can be counted by the natives only with cowrie nomenclature.