Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty Heap
Scuba diving off of Fiji.
Was around 75-85 feet deep.
Found a shell on the bottom. A Cowrie Shell.
brought it up to the surface and the dive guide got all excited and said I'll clean it up for you.
In Fijian culture, the Golden Cowrie Shell is highly regarded and highly valued.
To me, it was just a cool shell.
several days passed and I asked the guide about it. He was very very reluctant to give it back. I shrugged and said I found it, its mine.
I got it, and on the way back to the airport we stopped at some high end souvenir shops. There on display were their exhibit of Golden Cowrie shells. at $250-400 each. No wonder he didn't want to give it back. Probably a month or two salary for him.
[
|
Cowries were used as currency by early human civilizations.
Still a very cool find!