The strangest coin in the world

The strangest coin in the world is Lai Shi.

Lai Shi is one of the largest and strangest currencies in the world, mainly circulating in Yap Island of Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. This kind of lai stone used as currency is a limestone plate with a hole in the middle, and its diameter varies from one foot to 12 foot (about 3.65 meters, weighing 8 tons). The value of a gem depends on its size.

Alex may be the only currency in the world that won't fit in your pocket. If you want to move it, you must pass a wooden stick through the hole and carry it on your shoulder. Due to the lack of limestone used to make celestite in Yap Island, villagers risked their lives and crossed the ocean in canoes to Palau Islands. On this archipelago, they cut huge limestone from the mountainside and shipped it back to Yap Island.

Value embodiment of Lai Shi

Although part of the value of lai stone is reflected in its huge volume, their real value comes from the price paid for transporting limestone. Many people gave their lives in order to transport them back to Yap Island. As a currency, Lai Shi does not circulate in the market like other currencies, but honestly stays where it belongs, but its owner has changed.

Once transported to the designated place, these stones will not be moved, but everyone on the island knows who their owners are. The ownership transfer of Lai Shi will be held in an open ceremony. Perhaps the biggest difference between Lai Shi and other currencies is that it saves the bit trouble in the mobile phone computer. At present, Yap has banned the export of lapis lazuli, and some lapis lazuli are on display in the Bank of Canada Hall in Ottawa.