# Strange forms of money throughout history...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-forms-of-money-throughout-history/390296>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 31, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-forms-of-money-throughout-history/390296 "2007-01-31T18:37:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-forms-of-money-throughout-history/390296/41 "2007-02-03T08:38:05Z")

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Here’s an unusual kind of currency: fish. Specifically chinook salmon.

The story I heard was that some time in the 19th century, a touring theatrical company arrived in Astoria, Oregon and was told that due to a local shortage of dollars, people were using salmon as dollars. So they put up a sign saying they would accept one salmon instead of the dollar they usually charged for admission.

Well the joke was on them. Everyone paid with a coho salmon, which was much less valuable than the chinook salmon Astorians were actually using as money. So they lost money on that first performance, but in the long run they won, since they got lots of free publicity from having been the butt of the joke. The rest of their performances were well attended. And they no longer accepted coho for admission.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-forms-of-money-throughout-history/390296/42 "2007-02-03T19:03:39Z")

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[QUOTE=Common Tater]  
The tulip bulb mania gets a good treatment in “Extraordinary delusions and the madness of crowds” - it wasn’t really a currency (they were far too dear) but a speculation that makes even the [dot.com](http://dot.com) mania look sensible.

The book is available online, free:

> **[The Tulipomania - Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of...](https://www.econlib.org/library/Mackay/macEx.html?chapter_num=4#book-reader)**
>
> Charles Mackay, Scottish poet, journalist, and editor was best known in his day for his verses, some of which were set to music. His book, Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions, was first published in 1841 (London: Richard Bentley, New...

[/QUOTE]

I have doubts about the accuracy of that particular book, and the whole Tulipomania legend in general. I’ve started a [new thread](http://tinyurl.com/ys45aw) to discuss it.

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