wampum

How to use wampum in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for wampum.

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Editorial note

The transaction might not call for an exchange of financial wampum but that does not make it free.

Examples12

Definitions2

Parts of speech1

Quick take

informal terms for money

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of wampum gathered in one view.

noun

informal terms for money

noun

small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for wampum.

noun

informal terms for money

See also: boodle, bread, cabbage, clams, dinero, dough, gelt, kale, lettuce, lolly, lucre, loot, moolah

noun

small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency

Example sentences

The transaction might not call for an exchange of financial wampum but that does not make it free.

" If your answer is "no" then the real question is, "What differentiates wampum from dollar bills?

If your answer is "yes" then the real question is, "What differentiates wampum from silver?

Step 2 is the reason people use particular metals rather than wampum, geodes, or Somali shillings.

A metal standard, fiat via government coercion, rocks at the bottom of the ocean, wampum, whatever.

Or will it be business as usual where the giant tosses a few shiny wampum beads to the locals while destroying their livelihoods?

Even wampum's use as currency was connected to authority: tribal laws and religion.

To bring things full circle, let's turn your question about silver around: if the government allowed taxes to be paid with wampum, would wampum be a fiat currency?

People in pre-Columbian North America used wampum and other items instead of gold for that token and, not surprisingly, would not find much value in a such a soft metal.

A standard can be rather loose, when people were using wampum, beaver pelts or cowry shells as money those items weren't all of the exact same, size, shape or color but it was understood that they were a store of value.

A finite amount of bitcoin will be created, can you say the same for the US dollar?My view is that everything is a pyramid scheme from the first wampum and beads that were traded by humans on down the line to where we are now.

[0] Using wampum as an example again – the materials themselves were common however energy was required to collect shells/teeth/furs etc – energy that could otherwise be used to collect food, repair huts, make clothing etc.