Primitive Money: Katanga Cross from the Congo

Primitive Money: Katanga Cross from the Congo

According to an internet source "a Katanga Cross is a cast copper ingot in the shape of an equal-armed cross which was once used as a form of currency in central Africa in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The name derives from Katanga, a rich copper mining region in the south-eastern portion of the Congo. These X-shaped ingots were cast by local coppersmiths by pouring molten copper into sand molds. 

During its period of currency, a Katanga cross would buy about 10 kilograms of flour, five or six fowls, or six axes. Ten would buy a gun". 

This cross measures 185 mm x 185 mm and weighs 465 grams.