One of the only stone coins, along with that of the impressive ones from the Yap Islands in Oceania. They were used in antiquity as currency in Togo, and surrounding countries in West Africa.
They could be used as: spindle whorls, digging-stick weights, loom weights, net sinkers, charm or amulet necklaces, arrow and implement sharpeners, fire-making apparatus, and sacred insignia.
These stones were occasionally ground and the powder administered for medicinal purposes.
Called Sokpé or thunderstones (thunder stones) as they believed that they fell from the heavens during storms. They are quartzite stones with a central hole.
They measure 1 to 1 ⅛" and 2-3" in diameter.
From the Ambassador Allen Davis Collection.
