352 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
This might be understood of its use by the whites, but an early 
historian lamented its introduction——Hubbard, p. 40 
There are some references to its value in the Holland documents. 
In 1650 complaint was made that no order had been received re- 
lating to wampum as currency in New :Netherlands.. The West 
India company answered that there was no currency among the 
common people there but wampum, which formerly passed at four 
for a stiver and was now six. Without regulating its value it was — 
noted in 1634 that “ wampum being, in a manner, the currency of 
the country, with which the produce of the interior is paid for, must 
be considered as obtained goods, being the representative thereof.” 
In 1658 the sheriff of New Netherlands, acting as commissary, was 
selling goods in small quantities for wampum. Proposals for 
changed values were frequent. The, Holland directors wrote in 
1656: “We consider a change in the value of your currency, that is, 
placing the beaver at six florins instead of eight, and wampum at 
eight for a stiver instead of six, a matter of great importance 
which must be well considered.” On this Gov. Stuyvesant wrote in 
1660: “To reduce the price of wampum to 12 or 16 for a stiver, 
as we have reduced it from 8 to I0, in receiving it at our offices, 
will remedy the evil only for a brief period. The traders would 
give the length of a hundred hands instead of fifty.” A stable 
metallic currency was needed. 
The Laws and ordinances of New Netherland, ‘age contain 
many wampum laws. In ‘1641 rough and unpolished beads had 
been brought in, “and the good polished wampum, commonly called 
Manhattan wampum is wholly put out of sight or exported, which 
tends to the express ruin and destruction of this country.” In 1647 
loose wampum was to continue current, but imperfect, broken and 
unperforated beads were to be picked out and declared bullion. In 
1650 loose wampum had depreciated from poor quality, and there 
were “many without holes and half finished; also some of stone, 
bone, glass, mussel shells, horn, yea even of wood and broken 
beads;” therefore it must be strung. Good should be six white and 
three black for a stiver; poor, eight white and four black for the 
same. It was to be legal tender only in limited quantities. 
