Numonu/moahau. Red feather coils from the Santa Cruz islands, Temotu Province, Solomon Islands

Abstract

In the amazing building constructed in the early 19th century to house the Bank of Scotland, in the centre of Edinburgh, you will find the Museum of the Mound, a museum basically dedicated to anything to do with “money”. Its collection contains marvellous pieces of what we may call traditional forms of money from various cultures all over the world. What I would say is arguably the most spectacular and iconic of these objects is what frequently is referred to as “red feather money” from the Solomon islands. It is certainly often used because of this in the museum’s PR material, such as posters and the website, and this object is what this article is about.