DOLPHIN TEETH AS MONEY.

DOLPHIN TEETH AS MONEY. All kinds of things can fit Meyer Burstein’s definition of money that I quoted yesterday; that is, they can perform monetary functions. Yaroslav Trofimov had an article in the Wall Street Journal for April 30 about how dolphin’s teeth are used in the Solomon Islands. They serve as a store of value and are used as cash for local purchases. The price of a pig is fifty teeth. The most important use of dolphin teeth is in buying a bride: “One healthy bride costs at least 1,000 teeth.” Trofimov finds two Solomon Islanders who express the opinion that the dolphin teeth are a better store of value than the United States dollar. The dollar has declined against dolphin teeth this last year even more than it has declined against the euro.