fatvegan

The traditional medium of exchange on the island of Yap, was fei, stone wheels up to 12 feet in diameter. These stones had a hole in the centre so that they could be carried on poles and used for exchange.

The stones were heavy, so it took substantial effort for a new owner to take his fei home after completing a transaction. Although the monetary system facilitated exchange, it did so at great cost.

Eventually, it became common practice for the new owner of the fei not to bother to take physical possession of the stone. Instead, he traded his claim for goods that he wanted. Having physical possession of the stone became less important than having legal claim to it.

This practice was put to a test when a valuable stone was lost at sea during a storm. Because the owner lost his money by accident rather than through negligence, everyone agreed that his claim to the fei remained valid. Even generations later, when no one was alive had ever seen this stone, the claim to this fei was still valued in exchange.

From my macroeconomics textbook. I reckon that is really cool.