So, for the contemporary historians that scoff at us. Calling our work and source collection drivel, or even `unsubstantiated drivel`. Yes, a true quote from a gentleman that wrote us. Someone will take time out of their day to tell us such things. They will not take the time to read any of our work, but will take the time to write us and tell us how wrong we are. No arguments, just this is wrong. Because why? Well, because I say so. Getting things like this, is believe it or not spiritual. Opposition is Spiritual. And when you experience that, it should spur any man to the point of exceeding joy, because that should tell you that you are on to something. The bigger the lie, the greater the opposition right. Now, please We are grateful for all interactions from this platform, don`t get us wrong. All communication and feedback is welcome. But when people start coming around to the facts, that there are things found in South Africa that have no business being found here. Then, people should start wisening up. And we dare say, If these findings where made more public, they would open a whole new world in the studies of Ancient Africa.
So, among these things found in the ground, inland or close by the sea, an interesting case of very old coins unraveled in the 1900-hundreds. And the story unraveled in great detail mind you, we have small segments of academic conversations published in science magazines, cited here as proof of what was found. And, scholars went back and forth on the finds of Greek and Roman coins in Pondoland in the Eastern Cape Province. But not only this was found, but also other coins in Kwa-Zulu Natal, at a location called Marianhill (not far from Durban). All these are locations in South Africa. And at the last location, a HEBRAIC coin was found. Figures hey, dated from the times of Simon Maccabees (160 years BC), but we get ahead of ourselves. With important finds like these coming out to the public, remember these are the ones that we know about, one can only wonder what other things that lie buried in the Southern African soil. Yet to be found. So lets dive into this !
Now, Mpondoland is a geographical area on the coast of South Africa. This part used to be known as the Transkei (a beautiful area), it borders Thembuland, and is more importantly closer to Griqualand. These were some of the areas, we think, that the ancient Greeks established themselves within the Promised Land.
Now Mpondo is a rather new name for the area, and is historically linked to Chief Tshomane Mpondo from the 1800 hundreds. These coins in question, Roman and Greek from very different time periods, did perhaps (some historians seem to imply) come from or was discovered on a East India Trading ship called Grosvenor, although this can easily be disputed. The Grosvenor ran aground on 4th of August in 1782. And the historical claim is that these coins stem from this ship or perhaps an earlier Portuguese shipwreck, São João, that also sank in the vicinity. We find this a little bit slim, seen as Bushmen and other native South African tribes have Rock Art pantings describing men wearing Phoenician and Babylonian attire. Traders from afar, with Phrygian caps and distinct ships. But we will get back to that, always getting ahead of ourselves.
Now a certain Sir George Francis Hill (1867-1948), who actually was director at the British Museum, wrote on Cooks coins in 1925, and had some ideas to shed on the ancient bronze coins of Greek and Roman origin allegedly found at Fort Grosvenor, in The Classical Review (No. 7, Vol. 11:365-367):
“The site of what had once been a Bantu hut was being excavated in search of treasure, when, some ten feet below the surface, the diggers came upon a calabash which crumbled away in their hands”.
Museums Director Hill wrote more, in that the collection of coins ended up with a Mr. Thomas Cook. And goes on to say that, 3 of the coins where from the Ptolemaic Empire (Greek State in Egypt, on the Continent), which dates to about 200 to 300 years BC. The Roman coins were dated from a much later era, a period following reform under Emperor Diocletian (300 After Christ). So here there exist a set of coins, very far away (historically anyways) from these two empires, that span over 600 years in between them. An almost 650 year gap (if you look at when the coins where struck date) between the ancient Greek and ancient Roman coins, allegedly found in the same clay pot. In South Africa.
Cook said, he was present under the excavation and testifies they were all found together. That may or may not be true. A grand total 8 Roman coins were found, but Cook later mixed them with some other Roman coins he had in in his possession... So they could no longer be separated and they could not tell which ones were from the Pondoland collection and which ones were from other coins he must have had in his possession. So, he had found lots of other coins as well, we can only assume. The full story is not there, and seems to be very much suppressed. What we can get from this discovery is that these coins are mere remnants of larger collections dug down, by someone, years and years earlier. And we will be adamant, these coins came from inland South Africa and are traces of Greek and Roman activity in these areas. Traces of vibrant trading and active markets. And remember the looting that took place of say Jerusalem and the times described in Josephus, these coins could have been dug down and left there for years. Then after the looters had taken everything they thought they could, this treasure was Brought to the coast and established ports for a collector or simply was awaiting to be smelted and sold for gold, silver or bronze value.
Anyway, in thread with speculation - It is speculated that the Greek coin (a silver Tetradrachm), that was found may have looked like the example on the right, with Ptolemy Soter II on one side wearing an aegis around his neck, and on the other side the Eagle standing with or on a thunderbolt (struck approximately 250 BC).
Although, as you shall see from the real images of the coins further below, and they look different then these ones people find today (examples above), claiming to be struck then and there, around the dates Before Christ. We just cannot be sure of any of these dates. And, this exact Greek silver drachm coin looks to us to be one of the more forged ones out there, with many different variants, from what we can find, with different smiths (legal or illegal) putting their spin on Ptolemys looks and the Eagle and its writings.
The other coin that was said to be from Cooks collection stemmed from the times of Emperor Diocletian, a Roman Follis. Although, just like the coin above it may have look slightly different then the example we have here and may even have been from a different time period. Remember thee where talented forgers in ancient times just as there are people that will forge either hard currency or especially in our times, digital currencies are being minted at a rapid pace.
Furthermore, Museums-director Hill, who we are still basing this on, also made comments and descriptions about the fact that these coins also could be from the reigns of Gaius Maximinus Thrax (a man that was supposedly 8 feet in height) who had a rebellion on his hands in Africa, which was a name for a Roman Province connected with North Africa and Numidia, although we think it went deeper into Central Africa. Hill also mentions the rulers Constantius I, Galeria Valeria and Maxinimus II.
Director Hill should have mentioned Gordian and Philip the Arab, both rulers of ancient Rome and had conquests on actual African soil. Philip more then likely lost bigger parts of ancient Mesopotamia (Monomotapa) to the Persians. We will try to build an article, were, as we connect these places the Romans went to, bring them back to the Continent. Remember Rome clashed with Persia and Battle of Misiche on the continent (East-Africa), then its the Sassanids attacked Rome under Gordian III (remember Roman Garrisons along the Euphrates and Dura-Europos, and also the Roman influence of Ancient Syria (West- and Central-Africa).
It is a lot of work, because it is hard to pinpoint places like Carthage (a Phoenician colony), and if they indeed were in North Africa or also on the East-African Coast. Remember Rome conquered most of Africa, all the way South, they did not stop in Northern Africa or even Egypt. They had a Roman Prefect in Judaea in Southern Africa, all ports and most of the mainland were controlled by them - by law and method, the Romans ruled. We will get on it for the future and chronicle Roman battles as they withdrew from the Continent. But will quickly end up being a book. Not for us to write.
Lets go back and venture deeper into the coins, and we can read some of the remarks of Australian born anatomist and anthropologist Raymond Arthur Dart (1893-1988), professor at University of Witwatersrand had this to say in an article in Nature, in 1925 (No. 2890, vol. 115:425-439):
...28 coins were found by Thomas Cook, who still lives in Durban. (..) and was found about 50 years ago, placing discovery in 1870s. This would have been impossible as the Cook brothers only arrived in Pondoland in 1885. Interestingly enough, one of the concessions of the Cooks negotiated with the Pondo chief Sigcau, was to dig for precious metals.
Well there you have it. These coins of Thomas Cook were most likely found in the ground on commissions for the Chief, on the mainland of the Eastern Cape or further inland. Not belonging to the shipwreck at all. Dug down or collected by Africans on the mainland, perhaps from a much larger cull of coins, showing historical remnants of the far ancient past.
Another chap named John Francis `Frank` Schofield (1886-1962) from Durban, made comments on Darts article again in the same publication in 1926, he said he had taken to trouble to trace the coins... (No. 2943, Vol. 117:453):
“… and find that there are several very peculiar circumstances regarding them, which I consider throw a completely new light on the whole question.”
It is good that Schofield found it peculiar, because so do we, though perhaps for different reasons then him. Regardless these coins should not be appearing all the way down in South Africa should they. But they are here, so theories must be set forthright. Like a political campaign, of distort and discredit, the pundits will go at it. They each take their turn until most theories are spent. Through letters and powerful friends, the truth gets subdued and eroded over time.
Schofield also had other theories though, that may or may not be correct. It serves our theory of South Africa being the Promised Land little, but we will include these ideas just so you can see how academia will squabble away and experts will discredit the other like their life depends on it. An remember these are professors (a working and contracted person) protecting their salaries. Now Schofield, he had the opinion that these ancient coins were not of 2 different ancient empires, but of 3. And unlike Hill and Dart, who identified Greek and Subsequently Roman coins, Schofield identified a third ancient Empire, that had a full 3 examples of Byzantine coins, from the era of Constantine II and one large Copper Coin from the times of John I Tzimiskes.
The inclusion of John I, as he reigned some 1000 After Christ, is quite the curveball. As if finding the coins in South African soil was not enough. But it should give people enough imagination that IF you have a powerful enough degree, you can pontificate pretty much, well just about anything. All you gotta do is Bring in just enough substantive claims behind your argument and the theory, most of the time, no matter how unlikely, it often stands. Now you see, on account of Schofield we are drawing in Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire, remember the Roman Empire did not fall completely until in the 1400-hundreds, much because of Constantinople not falling. But thats another story. Rome basically became the Roman Church. And, we are hard-pressed to say that Byzantium is basically Rome, at least in faith we think. The Roman Empire seemed to function and, kinda like any superpower, completely dependant of wars (and winning wars) for it to keep being in profit. But one cannot win every time, and then the profits linger and the empire collapses in on itself. So anyways - by these times, rounding the 1000 mark in history, we are off the continent, histories and countries had risen and fallen by then. And we think, we have Jerusalem and the Promised Lands quite literally moved from its home and continued elsewhere. All by design it seems, because you cannot argue that SoNiNi wanted it any other way.
Now Schofield was not finished, and said that the coin of John I of Byzantine can not be dated earlier then 969 when John first came into office. And then he made further comments about the state of the Greek coins which where immaculate, then Roman coins showed some signs of wear but still in good condition, however the Byzantine coin where so worn that people had great difficulties identifying them. Schofield remarked (No. 2943, Vol. 117:453):
“But when it is born in mind that the horde covers from first to last a period of more than twelve and a half centuries, one ceases to be surprised at anything”.
So he was surprised that an alleged Byzantine coin, which could have come from Portuguese Trade or found at a shipwreck, was part of the collection. Why does the man not ponder on the fact that 28 ancient coins, spanning then some 1500 years ended up 12 feet under the ground in a clay pot in Pondoland...? And all this found all the way down, inland in the most southern parts of Africa. Remember some of these coins were struck and made almost 2000 years BEFORE Van Riebeeck landed at the Cape and later laid his claims. It should be an uproar in academia, but rather, sweep this under the rug.
Schofield was still not not done, he did allow a theory of Arab trade being source of the coins, and it all came from Sofala. We would agree with him, but the traders were much much older than mere Arabs. Schofield does not mention the Phoenicians which were described by the Natal Bushmen as having come to trade with them. Further he and other researchers mentions not the work of Trappist Munk called Otto Mäeder (1863-?), and we shall see that Mäeder brought many interesting proofs over his time of publishing. He came forth with things that would baffle academia to the extend as we see it, that he was ousted. Not to be taken seriously.
Now luckily the Australian Professor Dart, does have a wider scope and mentions good things about Mäeder (No. 2943, Vol. 117:453):
“… the painstaking and tireless investigations of a Trappist monk (Otto Maeder) of the Marianhill monastery in Natal appear to provide decisive information such as long searched for”.
The often cited Brother Otto Mäeder was quite an interesting chap indeed. More than often just called an Art Recorder, we would say this man was an anthropologist and humanist to boot. Just look at the effort put into his drawings and observations of ancient peoples.
And Dart often talks about Mäeder and how he with seemingly with great patience and over the course of several years copied bushman pantings (most likely freehanded them), that he found in various rock shelters in the Kei River Valley, Eastern Cape part of the Old Cape Province. If anyone wants to read up on Mäeder there is a good article by Adrien Flett and Penny Letley in their paper Brother Otto Mäeder: an examination and evaluation of his work as a rock art recorder in South Africa (2007). With good sources and gives some more insights into Mäeder as a person, the comments made by Bushmen and meetings with Phoenicians - and the fact that he should be regarded as much more than just a mere art recorder.
Now Mäeder found through his research that the Bushmen experimented with various pigments to make sure the work of art on the face of the rock would stick for as long as possible. And, after perfecting the technique, Dart made comments (No. 2890, vol. 115:425-439):
“...found subjects of artistic exploitation in voyagers who visited their coasts and inland rivers at a period so remote that paintings depicting them are sometimes partially covered by incrustation one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness”.
So the Bushmen paintings copied by Otto, and other earlier researchers showing a people clothed in a very distinctive Attire recorded ONLY among Phoenicians, Phrygians and Babylonians. And Dart provides more examples of visits from ancient civilisations to Southern Africa.
Dart goes on to mention something we will prepare in its own article, but essentially there have been found remains of a Phoenician galley at Sea Point, not far from Cape Town. First reports of this go back to 1827 at the discovery site close to the current Bellville or Maitland (sources differ). This was during a time when water levels where much higher than today. And in 1989, they unearthed pieces of wood on the Old Mutual Sports Ground in the Pinelands supposedly belonging to the Phoenician Galley (it only took them 150 years to get to it). The wood was dated to 110 After Christ... and was made from Cedarwood. Some claim Lebanese (Middle Eastern), but that is definitely up for debate. Ancient Lebanon was on the continent. Now whatever wood the Phoenicians used was from the Cedars of Lebanon, which we believe was from African forests. Forests now likely chopped down and long gone, much like Abrahams large trees at Mamre, only remains left. We will get back to this ship in its own article.
Lets get back to Raymond Darts controversial words, as he made use of much of the material provided by Otto Mäeder and P.M.A. Schweiger in his 1925 paper (Dart, 1925,6):
...from the independent evidence of at least four people, that foreigners who were clothed in Phoenician and even Babylonian garb were well known to the aboriginal Bushmen of the Eastern Cape.
Now the people Dart says has independent evidence, would more than likely be Otto Mäeder, P.M.A Schweiger, Tongue and Middle-Brook, all mentioned in the paper. Now Dart does use Otto Mäeders copies of the art but adds own captions and labels like Phrygian Cap (like the one on the coin of Midas further down), very identifiable headpiece, or adds other comments like `Babylonian cap` or `pleated Chinese hat` (Dart, 1925:3-9). Traces of Phoenicians and Babylonians...
Coming back to the coins, we can read that Dart wrote that the discovery in Pondoland was no the only one of its kind, and mentioned the monks discovered, during their build of the water reservoir at Marianhill, 30min drive from Durban, that they found there in the ground a Hebraic coin from the times of the Maccabees (No. 2890, vol. 115:425-439):
“at the depth of eighteen inches in recent stratum of sand and humus on the side of the hill, a Hebraic coin of the reign of Simon Maccabaeus (143-136 B.C.), with the description ‘fourth year of the deliverance of Sion’ (Anthropos, Bd. V. p 168)”
Well well, would you look at that. A Hebrew Coin, stemming from AFTER the Fall of Jerusalem and times of Antiochus Epiphanes with a heavy introduction of the Greek culture into The Promised Lands, and it times constructions of Olympic Temples to worship the actions men and not SoNiNi. A Coin that has NO business being in these lands except if it came from just a few hundred miles inland, and finally found its way to a port for trading, or waiting to end up in the pocket of an avid historical buff. Or, just a poor brother wanting to smelt it for its value in silver or gold, so he could feed his family.
Nonetheless, this was a coin from the times of Simon Maccabees, also called Somoni the Wise, that took part in the revolt against the Greeks (Seleucid Empires), and had his brother Judas and Jonathan Apphus with him. Now Antiochos VI Epiphanes (the bad guy, to be blunt) had appointed Simon as a military commander of the coastal region that went from the Ladder of Tyre (a mountain range described many places in ancient literature), which was on African soil and all the way up to ancient Egypt. The Ladder of Tyre was a mountain range well known and Could well turn out to be what we call The Great Escarpment today. More on that later. Lets look at the Hebrew Coin.
The Maccabeus Coin
Now a short report on Simon Maccabeus, the third and last son of Mattathias who ruled Juda after the Maccabean Revolt (160 years BEFORE Christ).
This was under the times of Juda Maccabeus, and religious freedom was gained after Antiochus IV Ephiphanes persecuted the Hebrews, severely. Now Juda Maccabeus and all that followed him wanted full political freedom, he ended up dying for the cause. Jonathan then became ruler and drove out the Assyrians (also an African nation), and later under Simon, the ancient Hebrews gained their independence. But the story does not end there, unfortunately we dont have time to flesh out these historical events more in just this segment, that is already getting lengthy. We might do it later to reveal some artefacts found close to Jerusalem during the Maccabeus times. Yes there could be some promise. Needs fact checking though.
Now surprisingly the image of the Hebraic coins you will find today, claiming to be the ones from ancient times, are mostly replicas because most of them are in such bad states, that finding any images or writings on them are very difficult. They are in a decrepit state as they were mostly made out of Copper (likely from King Solomons copper mines close to the Euphrates). He minted these Shekels from 142 to 135 before Christ, and they were said to be inscribed Holy Jerusalem in Paleo-Hebrew and dated to Simon Maccabeus times. Now the images above, we are not really sure represent the Shekel that was in ancient Times, people say it is. But we are not so sure this one looks like the one that Otto Mäeder found at Mariannhill. Because if we read our Bibles, it is remarkably well described.
For instance, it was under The Laws of Moses that each Hebrew man should give half of these shekels to The Temple as an offering to SoNiNi (Exodus 30,13). During the times of Christ, this would have been the only accepted coinage, the fabled Silver Shekel of Tyre. On account of the Silver weight and content, it was said to be pure. The money lenders would then sell these Tyrian (East-African) coins in exchange for the regular coins, inside the Temple even. No wonder Christ was mad, the very first Carry over trades (which should be illegal) was conducted on holy ground.
We will come back to this particular coin, and many of the other contemporary coins in the next article. It will give some more examples and versions of this coin that may have been found in KwaZulu Natal. We are not fully convinces we have all these coins in question, or that even the coins we have suggested are the right ones. We simply want to dive into more possibilities, then what time allows us to mention here. Remember this coin and other ones would have been in circulation during the times of Christ. Yes it may even have come close to His hands.
Now People, just as a side note we include the coin on called God on the Winged Wheel, that has gathered much attention. And we firmly believe coins like this does certainly not come from ancient Africa or the lands of Juda. Why, well remember the Commandments, the ancient African Hebrews kept them. And a clear break of the Commandments that asks us not to make an image on Him has here been broken, if this is SoNiNi it is supposed to depict, though to us it rather looks like Zeus-Ammon. Unless it is the Egyptian, Phoenician and Greek substitutes like Amen, Amen-Ra, Yahweh or Zeus. And We think it is. SoNiNi has no desire to be depicted on a coin. People will tell you this is the God of Bible, we disagree. Yahu and or YHD is on the other hand written on this coin, which can be interpreted a number of different ways. But it coincides nicely with the Phoenician, Egyptian, Phrygian and the ever influential Greek Pantheon. So therefore it, and its correlated names should stay within its original outset and should not feature in believers of Scriptures daily vocabulary.
Back to tracing these news articles describing the find of these coins, another source, from 1927 in an article called Old Coins Unearthed in South Africa published in The Star in Johannesburg in 1927 (August edition). An a lot of this research is based on what we found in that old article. The Pondoland Hoard of coins AND not to forget the discovery by Otto Mäeder and the Simon Maccabaeus coin found in Natal. With more mentions of a second coin found in Natal, in the form of a Roman-Greco coin of Emperor Diocletian, two feet under the ground near the White House Hotel at Mount Edgecombe. Baffling? Well not to us, it should be to anyone interested in ancient history though. Because there might have be one or two things, that we are certain are right, are very wrong about the history of Ancient Africa.
Just look at This Elektrum hekte that shows an African Man on one side with squared seals on the other side. This coin, believe it or not has no real connection to any Civilisations other than what is thrown out as being Greeks and or Aethiopian. Thats why we put forth that coinage was well known and used by Africans as well, even in ancient times. Now the latter is what we are led to believe was the ancient term for ALL Africans in the ancient world apparently. We do not think so. Africa is way too large to have just simply been given the historical prefix Aethiopians. Its insulting to any historian to be fed that line. No, things are way more complex than that. Now be it so that the Aethiopians were characterised as a particular type and specimen of a man from the African continent, with their own culture and laws, be they also dark-skinned and dark-haired, that is something else. Like we would place a man as hailing from say The Congo, or Malawi fairly quickly. This is more likely to be the ancient descriptions made so by the Greek historians like Herodotus and Josephus, they would differ the Africans as they saw them. The term Aethiopians should not be synonymous as meaning all Africans. A note, Greek art is full of black people and people with darker skin, so to say all these were Aethiopians is not very forthright. Much like the African epitaph. Ineffectiveness and cultural blindness comes with that name.
So, not far from these areas we historically know as having been called Ethiopian (North East African), you have very revealing names, like Eritrea (could be connected to ancient Eryhtraeans) and also the country of Ethiopia, connected to the Aksumite Kingdom, that was around from 200 years After Christ. And they too had their own coinage. Now Islam would rise to power towards the end of the Aksumite Kingdom, and they are not without part in ancient Biblical history. If you compare this coin to the later one, presumably from the same Empire but some 400 years later, the likeness on the coin has changed dramatically. And now bears the resemblance of Rome rather then an independent Empire, and in terms of the 400 years in between them, should it not have been the other way around? The Romans, at least in our estimations, would have been long gone if they were ever in control of the area. On this coin from the 600 to 700-hundreds is an image of King Wazenas, with four crosses around a golden plug. Now mind you this was supposed to be a Christian area in Africa, we can see heavily Roman Catholic influences... Makes you wonder whether this historically is King Wazenas at all...
This particular Aksumite coin came in two types, one in silver the other one in copper. The silver coin bore the Ge`ez inscription King Wazena and also the inscription The King who exhales the Saviour (Za-Ya `Abiyo La Madkhen Negus). So the words of Christ would have traveled far by this time and shaped this African Kingdom. The Copper one which we are showing in the image, bears uncanny Roman resemblances now, a draped profile wearing a head-cloth and holding a stalk of wheat or barley (sorghum). This is sometimes topped with a Roman Catholic cross inscribed May This please the People. To us just the fact that this empire issued two VERY different looking coins in a rather short span of years, goes to show that something did indeed go down historically. Another big topic and possible rewrite for the origins of Rome and The Roman Empire, for where they always (historically) seated in Europe?
African Native Monies
Lets look at some other forms of transaction quickly. Now if you look up South African historian Eric Rosenthal (1905-1983) author of Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, you will find he wrote a little booklet for Barclays Bank called Shells to Shillings with a coin very similar to the depicted Roman coin of Galeria Valeria 300 After Christ (Rosenthal, 1959:22)
“African Native money. These crude imitations of coins, clearly copied from European originals, were found by Captain Piek, Chairman of the South African Philatelic Society. Their origin is a mystery”.
This little article by Rosenthal, which we could have easily made a book of ourselves, we would have called it African Native Monies and it would show another side to Africa. In the fact that monies, could also be measured in other materials such as cowries, salt, iron, copper and something called Ring Money.
Now we do have historical data that shows that in the 1400-hundreds, cowrie shells where used a lot in West-African trade as a form of monies for local transactions. Now the Cowries have traditionally been used as currencies to the islands of the sea, like Maldives and Mauritius, but also many other places in Africa and Southern Asia. What limited its use wold be the required quantity needed for larger transactions. It terms of value a string usually had 39 cowrie, there are reports that in 1892 in Tanzania, 3 to 5 cowries was needed to purchase and egg, and then 100 cowries to purchase 2 balls of soap. So you can understand the amounts of cowries needed could quickly get out of hand for lets say for a transaction of a ship or a property. The trade for cowries pretty much ceased in the Maldives at the better use for trading larger sea shells.
Another form of African currency is iron and copper ingots shaped and beat with an iron hammer into many different forms, like the twisted Kissi-pennies that would represent anything from farm implements to wearables like jewellery.
They also came shaped as stones and was otherwise made intended to show and display wealth. You see, and Africans knew this, that the shaping of ingots could be seen by people that the owner had knowledge of metals, as an indication of the form of the metal and the fact that it could be shaped and struck with signatures. Much like a Gold bar today. Now a form of wealth you can shape into anything is very useful to make market exchanges, but it also has an appliance in cultural African society. This could also be used as Lobola / Lobolo, bride price incentives, to further make stronger the bond between husband and the extended family of the bride.
Now iron and copper can both be turned and worked at somewhat low temperatures, and this is why many Africans tribes would use these as forms of payment. The form of the metal would usually be the indicator that the metal was of high quality, let alone the skill required to fashion it into these many different objects, this is what led to it being sought after. So the twisted and hammered pieces, the so-called Pennies of the Kissi tribes in Liberia, with its distinctive ends, shows that metal can be worked in different ways and Africans may have pioneered this in the ancient world.
Iron Hoes from the Makai tribes from Cameroon, used from the turn of 20th century and earlier, made shapes that looked like usable tools and weapons. The the imaged miniature iron axe made by the Fang Tribe in Gabon. At a Lobola final settlement, it would not be uncommon that thousands of these axes were used as a form of payment. A Biblical trait of the warrior tribes for sure. Then we have the Copper Katanga Cross, from the Congo River Basin. Now generally, these crosses have no real historical reason for being this well made and that many, but they are in fact plenty. The Congo region is rich in minerals, especially copper and these crosses made from sand moulds have been circulating as money for a long time. Historical reports we have from the 1300-hundreds, although they are probably much much older. And would have been used in Central African trade for hundreds of years before Europeans came and started making historical notes.
Now another tradable item in ancient times was Salt. Essential to the human diet, it was so essential back in the day that it was actually used as a form of payment. These bundles of salt were made by merchants in exact weights and divided into portions in order to make a trustworthy transaction. In the image you can see a standard unit from Sierra Leone.
Lastly we have Ring Money, that was used in West African cultures and cuts across areas like art, jewellery and actual money. So Ring Money, means rings basically, that one would wear on fingers. These came in MANY different forms and we wish we could include them all to show the share ingenuity of West Africans, meant to display the wealth of the person wearing the Ring. These were mostly made out of Copper, but also silver and brass, this made them very valuable to start with. These would be copied especially by Europeans, but many were not accepted as when struck they would give off the wrong sound and then would be of poor quality. Or a fake as it should rightly be called. But these ones should be brought back as they tell value a lot more then a piece of paper, that can be copied with ease. Hard to fake the sound of hard metal when struck right.
So we see that transactions had many fail safes in Africa if the hard currencies or local monies where not present or not enough. Another thing that would always be on the mind would be the instance of falsification of coin. Hard iron coated in gold or silver, very common. Forgery was just as rampant in the ancient world as it is today. With creative alternatives like the above, trade could still flourish in form of bundles of wheat, barley, salt, or creative shaped metals or even cowrie shells. The deal wold still go through.
Now back to the coins that where found in South Africa, and trying to answer how these coins could be found 10 feet under in a play pot in Pondoloand? We have read what Raymond Dart thought, that they were brought by ships in the 1400-hundreds (or Later with The Grosvenor theory) or earlier with the Phoenicians (this one may be very close to the truth we think), then we had John Schofield that suggest they came through Arab trade. And these aren`t bad suggestions, they just seem a little unfulfilling. And, then there are the various theories of different ships bringing them such as São João (sank in 1552), São Bento (sank in 1554) and The Grosvenor (sank in 1782), all these could be good candidates and most of the coins could be from these shipwrecks indeed. Although, none of these explain the Hebraic Maccabeus coin found inland in Kwazulu Natal, dug down or thrown into a well at Marianhill. That one sticks out. So how did this coins end up here? Its a though one to answer, but We think a find like this is just the tip of the iceberg of the things to be found in the future. We are praying for a time when archeologist start to catalogue what they find and have a more open mind as to what is expected to be found in Southern Africa. Hopefully then they can include reports of findings of say a Roman coin, Hebraic Coin, and that needs to be looked into.
So if you stuck it out to the very end with us on this one, we thank you. In the next article we will go into the coins in Christ times. We will in closing use a quote from American Anthropologist, Jeremiah Fain Epstein (1924-2005) that concluded this in his research on the Pre-Colombia and trans-Atlantic contact, he wrote in Pre-Colombia Old World Coins in America (Epstein, 1980):
“...if Romans ever got to America, we haven't got any evidence of them yet.”
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