Strings attached

Beads have been worn for thousands of years, and the first beads are believed to have been fashioned from seeds, stone, clay and shells. Beads were and still are worn as jewellery or sewn on to the surface of garments.

Historically they were also used to show wealth, and in some cultures they were used as currency.

Perhaps the most famous beads to be used as currency are the Wampum beads made by the Native American Indians. They were fashioned from the growth rings of a sea mollusc - either the Busycon (a form of whelk) or the Merinaria shell. The making of the beads took many hours of fine cutting and drilling, hence their perceived importance and worth. Therefore, when trading began with the Europeans these beads became the formal currency. A fathom (183cm or 6ft of strung beads) of white wampum was worth the equivalent of ten shillings (50p). One fathom would hold between 240 and 360 beads depending on their size. This form of strung money was known as wampumpeage or peage.The use of wampum as money continued until the American Revolution.