Yap Rai Stones: Giant limestone discs used as currency for 600 years. Giant limestone discs up to 12 feet across weighing up to 8,000 lbs Heaviest currency in the world Originated approximately 600 years ago from Palau limestone caves
Yap island's Rai stones: giant limestone discs up to 12 ft across weighing 5,000+ lbs used as currency for ~500-600 years! 💰 Used to settle land disputes, marriages, peace agreements - ownership transferred by oral agreement. ~6,000 stones remain and system still used today!
Key Facts
- Giant limestone discs up to 12 feet across weighing up to 8,000 lbs
- Heaviest currency in the world
- Originated approximately 600 years ago from Palau limestone caves
- First western descriptions in Jesuit accounts from late 1600s
- Traded to settle land disputes, arrange marriages, and make peace
- Ownership transferred by oral agreement without moving the stone
- One stone lost at sea in storm still retains value because its story is known
- David O'Keefe in 1871 began quarrying stones using steel tools and schooners, inflating the economy
- German officials painted black crosses on stones as fines in 1899
- Approximately 6,000 Rai stones remain on Yap today
- System still used to mark births, deaths, and honor
Related site: Orrak Yapese Stone Money Quarries — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: 5 Unexplained Ancient Artifacts Cut from a Single Stone by Dark5 Ancient Mysteries