Economist: Money, no matter what its form and in almost every culture in which it has been used, derives its value from its scarcity, whether real or perceived
Anthropologist: But cowrie shells formed the major currency in the Solomon Island economy of the Kwara' ae, and unlimited numbers of these shells washed up daily on the beaches to which the Kwara' ae had access
After Western traders brought money in the form of precious-metal coins to the Solomon Islands, cowrie-shell money continued to be used as one of the major media of exchange for both goods and services.