seawant


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seawant

(ˈsiːwɒnt)
n
the Native American name for silver coins and, formerly, the shell beads used as currency
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
References in periodicals archive ?
Seawan or seawant was also the name of Indian shell money, of which there were two kinds as above mentioned--wompam, white; and Suckanhock, (from sucki) black.
The Dutch settlers referred to wampum as "seawan," "seawant," or "zeewand" (Stearns, 1887), because this is what they believed the Indians were calling it.