History of Money
When money gets easy to make
1627
Wampum reaches Plymouth
Shell beads used as coins
1637
Legal money in Massachusetts
6 beads to a penny
1661
Dropped as legal tender
Flooded with poor and fake beads
Massachusetts made shell wampum legal money in 1637. Poor and fake beads flooded in, and it was dropped in 1661.
If anyone can make it, it stops being money.
Source: Boston Fed, "History of Colonial Money"; University of Notre Dame, Colonial Coins: Wampum · Oct 16, 2026
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