While modern money issued by the state has been accepted throughout Melanesia, many indigenous currencies, such as shells, survive. Why? This collection of essays explores money and its social dynamic in eight different Melanesian communities.

This collection of original essays explores money and its social dynamic in eight different Melanesian communities in order to determine why the people of Melanesia continue to use traditional kinds of currency, such as shells, alongside more modern types. When the answer to this question is examined in relation to the use of money in other countries, an entirely new model for thinking about money develops.