Shell money most valued by the Native American tribes of the Pacific Coast from Alaska to northwest California was "Dentalium shell", a species of long narrow marine shelled mollusk, a tusk shell or scaphopod. The tusk shell is naturally open at both ends, and can easily be strung on a thread. This shell money was valued by its length rather than the exact number of shells; the "ligua", the highest denomination in their currency, was a length of about 6 inches. Farther south, in central California and southern California, the shell of the olive snail "Olivella biplicata" was used to make beads
Worry beads Worry beads Worry beads or kombolói, kompoloi (, , "bead collection"; plural: , ) is a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and used to pass time in Greek and Cypriot culture. Unlike the similar prayer beads used in many religious traditions, worry beads have no religious or ceremonial purpose. Modern Greek κομπολόι is derived from κομβολόγιον < κόμβος "knot" + -λόγιο "collection". It is sometimes said that it is short for the phrase "σε κάθε κόμπο προσευχή λέω", "in every knot I say a prayer"- "κόμπο" "knot"-"λέω" "say" > κόμπο-λέω > κομπολόι. This etymology accounts for