Vintage Authentic British West African Coin with a center hole. Used throughout West Africa from British Cameroons to the British Gold Coast. Well worn and patinated coins dating from the 30's and up. Used as currency in the colonial period. Left with the old patina. Fabulous for pendants and/or charms in jewelry making, collage, textile and artful embellishment.
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Large and small Brass Nugget beads … these make gorgeous accent beads.. one of a kind find! For generations a spectacular range of brass beads and pendants have been produced across Africa including small anvil-shaped nugget charms known as “Igbo bugs” popular among the Fulani. The tradition of metalworking in Africa is very much alive. And these nugget “Igbo bugs” type beads were produced for Funky Frog by the Metal Smiths in Kumasi, Ghana.” There are two sizes of nugget beads to choose from. -
A strand of 60 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 26".The beads are about 16 mm. There are two strands to choose from, one strand is priced less as there are several damaged beads. The mali Silver Beads do have defects throughout in all strands as they are handmade. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 50 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 30".The beads are about 19 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 25 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 24".The beads are about 12x25 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 110 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 32". About 10 beads are approx. 16 mm and the rest between 10-12 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 100 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 30". The beads are approx. 10-12 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 100 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 33". The beads are approx. 12 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
A strand of 100 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 36". The beads are approx. 12-14 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found by Hidir, Trader at the Koforidua Market in Ghana for Funky Frog. He says these silver beads are getting harder to find. Doing some research a prevalent message is that in recent years, these beads are becoming more difficult to find as the human rights situation in Mali has significantly deteriorated, as attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and large-scale abusive counter terrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters surged. The violence exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, with 8.8 million people requiring assistance and over 575,000 forced from their homes, including 375,000 internally displaced people and 205,000 refugees in neighboring countries as of August 2023. This forces many of the traditional artisans to leave the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. It makes these beads quite precious. -
New!! During the last Bead Hunt the Kokofrom metal smiths made Funky Frog some new bells including these. There are two sizes in this new shape - this one is the smaller Bell at 2.5" long. It makes a lovely jingle!! -
New!! During the last Bead Hunt the Kokofrom metal smiths made Funky Frog some new bells including these. There are two sizes in this new shape - this one is the larger Bell at 3" long. It makes a lovely jingle!! -
New!! During the last Bead Hunt the Kokofrom metal smiths made Funky Frog some new bells including these. There are now 4 sizes of this shape, xtra large, large, medium and small. This new one is in between the medium and xtra large size at about 20 mm. It makes a lovely ring!! -
During a Bead Hunt Funky Frog made a big order from the Kokofrom Cooperative outside Kumasi. These bells were made especially for Funky Frog . The process these metal smiths are using is the same as their ancestors... back then it was gold now it is any metal they can get their hands on!! If you would like to see the intricate process check out the blog here ... These large brass bells are about 23 mm across. The bells make a lovely jingle. There are now four sizes of these bells, small, medium, large and Xtra large. These are the Xtra large sized. $6/bead -
During a Bead Hunt Funky Frog made a big order from the Kokofrom Cooperative outside Kumasi. These bells were made especially for Funky Frog . The process these metal smiths are using is the same as their ancestors... back then it was gold now it is any metal they can get their hands on!! If you would like to see the intricate process check out the blog here ... These brass bells are about 18mm. The bells make a lovely jingle. There are now4 sizes of these bells, small, medium, large and xtra large. These are the medium sized. $4/bead -
These small brass bells are about 11mm. The bells don't make a noise when shaken on their own but paired up they make a lovely jingle. There are now 4 sizes in this bell... xtra large, large, medium and small ... these are the smallest size. $2/bead -
A bracelet sized strand of about 50 disk shaped Recycled Glass Beads on string. Each bead is about 11x4 mm and are Blue handpainted with yellow and white dots. These recycled glass beads were purchased straight from the small factory which hand crafts them using the methods of their ancestors, from crushing recycled bottles all the way to firing them in a wood burning oven. -
1 bracelet sized strands of 11 tubular Hand painted Beads strung on string. These Recycled Glass beads are about 6x24 mm and are dark grey with blue and grey swirls. These recycled glass beads were handcrafted in Ghana, Africa by crushing old, discarded glass and then pouring the powder into clay molds. The beads are then handpainted. The stem of a local plant is added, this burns away during firing, leaving a hole for stringing. The beads are fired in a wood burning earthen oven. Ghana is famous for this type of bead. Funky Frog bought these beads straight from the Bead Maker in Ghana. -
1 bracelet sized strands of 46 small thick disk Beads strung on string. These Recycled Glass beads are about 5x7 mm and are bright royal blue with white stripes. These recycled glass beads were handcrafted in Ghana, Africa by crushing old, discarded glass and then pouring the powder into clay molds. The beads are then handpainted. The stem of a local plant is added, this burns away during firing, leaving a hole for stringing. The beads are fired in a wood burning earthen oven. Ghana is famous for this type of bead. Funky Frog bought these beads straight from the Bead Maker in Ghana. -
1 bracelet sized strands of 23 round Handpainted Beads strung on string. These Recycled Glass beads are about 12 mm and are dark grey with blue and grey swirls. These recycled glass beads were handcrafted in Ghana, Africa by crushing old, discarded glass and then pouring the powder into clay molds. The beads are then handpainted. The stem of a local plant is added, this burns away during firing, leaving a hole for stringing. The beads are fired in a wood burning earthen oven. Ghana is famous for this type of bead. Funky Frog bought these beads straight from the Bead Maker in Ghana. -
A strand of colourful Handpainted Recycled Glass Beads strung on string 26" long. These beads vary in size, design and colour. The shape is tubular. This strand would make a fabulous necklace as is or broken up would brighten up any project. Definitely one of my favourites!! The bead is also sustainable as it is made of crushed glass bottles ground to a fine powder. Each bead is then handpainted. A little work of art!! -
A colourful strand of 100 Mali Wedding Beads strung on fishing wire 27" long. Like many African Trade Beads, these multicolored, tear shaped, glass beads were originally made in what was then known as Czechoslovakia and later traded to Africa. In Mali it is a tradition to present these beads to the bride on her wedding day. You will receive a strand similar to the one in the photo. -
26 colourful bulb Mali Wedding Beads ready to be made into a gorgeous piece. Like many African Trade Beads, these multicolored, tear shaped, glass beads were originally made in what was then known as Czechoslovakia and later traded to Africa. In Mali it is a tradition to present these beads to the bride on her wedding day. You will receive the wedding beads in the photo. -
26 colourful bulb Mali Wedding Beads ready to be made into a gorgeous piece. Like many African Trade Beads, these multicolored, tear shaped, glass beads were originally made in what was then known as Czechoslovakia and later traded to Africa. In Mali it is a tradition to present these beads to the bride on her wedding day. You will receive the wedding beads in the photo. -
A strand of 50 silver coin metal Mali squashed bicone beads strung on string which measures approx. 26". The beads are approx. 14-16 mm by 10-12 mm. Please note that these beads are made by hand out of recycled metal and will vary in shape and size within the strand. The string you will receive will be similar to the one you see in the photo but might have some variations. These beads were found for Funky Frog by a Trader in the Kejetia Market in Kumasi, Ghana. These beads are becoming hard to find as Mali is struggling at this time.