Did you spot the giant round stone with a hole in the middle? This is the currency on Yap island, but the stones themselves are originally from 450 km away on Palau. Some of these stones were nearly 3 meters in diameter and weighed over 5 tons, so it’s believed that not all were able to be safely transported by canoe and some likely sunk and remained at the bottom of the sea.
These days the currency for everyday transactions is the US dollar, but you’ll still see these stone disks all around the island and some are even used for traditional transactions like engagement gifts, transfers of land, or ceremonial festivals. Since they’re so heavy and hard to move, Yap has a system where ownership changes even if the stones themselves don’t move. In other words, someone can have stone money sitting on their property that belongs to someone else.
There was a time towards the end of the 19th century when Western travelers carved their own stone money and brought it to Yap island, hoping their self-produced currency would make them instantly wealthy. Did it work? What about these days, when anyone could make a copy of stone money with a 3D printer, what would happen if we tried to exchange it on Yap island? While they may look and feel the same as the original stone money, it lacks the one thing that gives it value-- history.
What makes money valuable? In the case of stone money, its history is a defining aspect of its value and separates it from modern currency. A stone becomes more valuable based on the history of who the previous owners were, what they did, and when they transferred stone ownership.
Stone money is so much more than it appears. It’s a symbol of the value of history, trust, and interaction, which is why it’s treasured by the islanders.
