Wampum and the Origins of American Money

I'm sometimes asked--as a tour guide at an historic site--what people used for money during the American colonial period. So I've been doing some Web searches and looking for other resources:This book (published in association with the American Numismatic Society) presents a scholarly treatise on the history of "wampum"--right down to the Native American origins of the word, its many cultural uses (beyond supporting trade and economic exchange), and influences on the later "paper wampum" of the colonies (including depictions of Native American peoples/scenes) on banknotes, well into the 19th century.Well illustrated! Also: plenty of philosophizing and dry musings on sovereignty and coinage around the world; and attitudes toward, and treatment of native American people. About a quarter of the book is reference notes.There's a quality of clutter and rambling to it--that makes the reading of this book (especially, for my purposes!) sort of like poking around someone's roadside antique store: plenty of interesting things to see…though not necessarily what you need...and it takes a while to circulate around. Still, you'd trip over things here that you're not likely to, anywhere else. I'd recommend it more for leisure reading (since that's what it would take) – while sticking to Web searches for quicker, briefer answers to get, and give.