Cowrie shells (Monetaria moneta) have historically been used as currency in several parts of the world, and have also being used, both in the past and present, very extensively in jewelry and for other decorative and ceremonial purposes. This species is most abundant in the Indian Ocean and was collected in the Maldive Islands, Sri Lanka, along the Malabar coast, on Borneo and other East Indian islands, and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun to Mozambique. Cowrie-shell money was an important part of the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.

Western nations, chiefly through the slave trade, introduced huge numbers of Maldivian cowries into Africa. By about 1850, the German explorer Heinrich Barth found them fairly widespread used in Kano, Kuka, Gando, and even Timbuktu. Barth reportes that in Muniyoma, one of the ancient divisions of Bornu, the king's revenue was estimated at 30,000,000 shells, with every adult male required to pay annually 1,000 shells for himself, 1,000 for every pack-ox, and 2,000 for every slave in his possession.

The shells were used in the more remote parts of Africa until the early 20th century, but then gave way to modern currencies. The Guinea's currency between 1971 and 1985, the syli, was subdivided into 100 cauris, issued as metal coins.

In Southeast Asia, when the value of the Siamese tical, or baht, was about half a troy ounce of silver (about 16 grams), the value of the cowrie (Thai bia) was fixed at 1⁄6400 of a baht. They were also used as a means of exchange in India. In Orissa, cowrie (popularly known as kaudi) were used as currency until 1805, when their use was abolished by the British East India Company and the rupee was imposed. This was one of the causes of the Paik Rebellion in 1817.

Starting over three thousand years ago, cowrie shells, or imitations of the shells, were used as currency in China. Shells were strung on thread or placed in a bags. The extent of the circulation of shell money is unknown, however, imitations of cowrie shells made out of bone, wood, stone, lead and copper were common enough to suggest that they were used in trade. More than 6,800 cowrie shells, along with other treasures, were found on 7 June 1976 during the excavation of the tomb of Fu Hao (Yinxu, Henan, China), who lived at the early 12th c. BC and was a wife of King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty (Bin Yang. The Rise and Fall of Cowrie Shells: The Asian Story // Journal of World History. 2011. Vol. 22, no. 1. P. 1-25. doi:10.1353/jwh.2011.0011. )