Use of Coivry -shells for Currency, A viulets, etc. 1 79 



(3) The small shells ; 2 tsun, 4 fen in length ; a pair 



of which was worth 30 cowries. 



(4) The lesser shells ; i tsuii, 2 fen in length ; a pair 



of which was worth 10 cowries. 



(5) The smallest shells {cyprece nionetce, or cowries), 



being smaller than i tsun 2 j/»?«, were not fastened 

 in pairs ; each was worth three cash. Those 

 which were smaller than six fen were not used 

 for currency." 



The shells of groups i to 4 seem to have been un- 

 doubted cowries, as in group 5, only larger, as the same 

 characteristic Chinese hieroglyph denoting cowry (see 

 Fig. C, p. 180.) appears against each of the groups. 



Unfortunately, except for dimensions, the particulars 

 are lacking as to the species of cowries forming these 

 four groups. 



If we may take the measurements as more or less 

 approximating to English inches, it is possible to find a 

 series of cowries inhabiting Eastern seas which would 

 come within these dimensions. For example, Cyprcea 

 testudinaria (the " tortoise-cowry," named by Linnaeus 

 from its resemblance to the tortoise) might very well have 

 served for group i. Of the others, group 2 may have 

 been smaller examples of the same, or even Cyprcea tigris ; 

 group 3 may have been Cyprcsa lynx; while group 4 were 

 probably exceptionally large examples of Cyprcea momta. 

 The average length of the latter species is about one inch. 



Regarding the tortoise-shells re-issued by Wang Mang, 

 Lacouperie informs us that "there were four different 

 sorts, of various sizes and denominations, with different 

 values, but the details have not yet been handed down to 

 our time." It is not a little curious that the larger cowry- 

 shells were also of four different sorts, sizes, and values. 



