299, Lot: 530. Estimate $75. Sold for $70. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AFRICA, West Africa. 19th-mid 20th century. Brass Manilla. 5.8 cm wide, 77.34 g. Copper horse-shoe shaped bracelet with flared ends. Opitz p. 209-13; Quiggin p. 89-91. Good VF, brown patina.

From the John Shaw Collection.

Large copper manillas were introduced by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. Over time, the use of these objects as currency spread and demand increased dramatically. Manillas were produced in Portugal, the Netherlands, in Nantes in France, and Birmingham in England. When the government officially withdrew them from circulation in 1948, they were exchanged at the rate of 80-480 to the English pound, according to weight and type.