by Simon Black
Sovereign Man
Human beings have come up with some crazy ideas for money and finance over the years.
Conch shells. Beads. Animal skins. Salt. Rice. All of these were used as a form of money at one time or another.
But the strangest by far has got to be the Rai Stones of Yap Island.
Yap is a tiny speck in the western Pacific, a few hours by plane from the Philippines and Guam.
Long ago, islanders began using gigantic limestone discs called Rai Stones as a form of money.