- [[cowrie shells were a form of currency]] - spices & salt (gold & salt trade, Rome) - bolts of cloth (China, probably mentioned in [[The Golden Thread by Kassia St Clair]]), [[silk was used as a measure of value]] - alcohol - [[The Horse The Wheel And Language by David Anthony#ch09p186 The Khvaylnsk Culture on the Volga|cattle]] ## Metal based - [[The Civilizations of Africa by Christopher Ehret#ch06p263|copper crosses]] - [[The Civilizations of Africa by Christopher Ehret#ch08 The Early Atlantic Age 1450-1640|copper rings & iron bars]] ## further reading - [hard to counterfeit currencies discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/2jn5ut/a_nonmetal_currency_hard_to_counterfeit/) at rWorldbuilding