Wampum A Paper Presented to the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia

This short scholarly essay takes listeners on a journey into the world of wampum, the shell‑beaded currency that first greeted Columbus on the Caribbean shores. It explains how Native peoples along the Atlantic coast crafted tiny white and dark beads from clam and winkle shells, polishing them with stone tools to create striking strings used in trade, diplomacy and adornment. The author also details the early European encounters, showing how English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists adopted the term and the practice.

Beyond the physical description, the lecture delves into the language behind the beads, distinguishing the indigenous names for white wampum and the darker suckáuhock, and revealing the cultural values attached to color and craftsmanship. Listeners will hear vivid accounts of the painstaking manufacturing process, from drilling to hand‑polishing, and why the rarer purple shades commanded higher prices. The piece offers a concise yet rich picture of how this humble object linked disparate societies in the early colonial era.