Where do beads come from????

Question: I have been collecting beads . And who loke to now where they come from?? and if i can get some websites or videos on the subject???

Answer: I am a numismatist ( a person who collects coins and studies them) In my pursuit of this, I have come across beads as a unit of trade dating way back to 1200 BC and earlier. They were used in Africa up to the 18th century and sometime after, as a trade item and were used a lot on the Pacific Islands. Some beads are quite rare and I have seen them sell for $25,000 each or more. Glass beads have been around for sometime, but not as long as the ones made of bone. I was kind of shocked to see a glass bead, hammered down at an auction for $20,000. You have a big field open and just to get a bead from all the countries would be a challenge. I bet there must be a bead collector group out there someplace. Try Yahoo groups.

Related Questions

Related Items