History·27 February 2026·4 min read
Leather money — when hide was currency
From medieval Russia to Kublai Khan's China, pieces of leather and fur served as money.
In many cultures, hides and furs were money: in medieval Russia people paid in squirrel and marten furs, and legend says Kublai Khan himself issued leather money.
Value from what was useful
Fur was warm, desired and hard to obtain — therefore valuable. Like tobacco or salt, it's another example that almost anything rare and useful could once become money.
