299, Lot: 537. Estimate $100. Sold for $160. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

OCEANIA, Solomon Islands. 18th(?)-early 20th centuries. Lot of two (2) pieces of “Fish-hook” money. The larger about 11.5 cm long, 1.5 cm wide; the smaller about 9 cm long, 1.5 cm wide. Two fish-hooks crafted of bone and wood-backed shell, bound together by twine. Opitz p. 145; Quiggin p. 143. Intact, the shell slightly separated from the wood on the larger specimen. Two (2) pieces in lot.

From the John Shaw Collection.

While undoubtedly of some value, Opitz notes that there is no consensus that such fish hooks actually circulated as currency.