Set of 5 Somme Bro Currencies - Guro, Baule, & Bete Peoples, Ivory Coast

These date back more than 200 years, are rare, and are ancestors of the kissi penny.

In the early 1900's, following a kidnapping of a fiancee, organized by her young suitor, a ransom of 4 packs of currency was paid to the father-in-law. The payment was made by an intermediary. If the husband wanted the tribe to know that his woman was a virgin, he went to the village the following day, waving his 4 pack - (from the book The Perfect Form).

Each piece is about 9.5" in length.