Regular Price $20 - Now On Sale $10. For nearly 300 years, beads served as a mean of exchange in America. Shell beads originated with Indians but were replaced by European glass beads which were traded to Indians. They were also uses as currency in the colonies where hard money was scarce. Following are original trade beads, wampum, used in Americas first three centuries. Dating about 1750-1800. Probably made in Italy, they were purchased by merchants who shipped them to the New World including the colonies and Caribbean Islands, where they were used in barter with the native inhabitants. Measures about 4.8 mm (about 2/10"). Buyer receives 25 beads.