Katanga Cross

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A Katanga Cross.

A Katanga Cross, also called handa, is cast copper cross, typically about 8 inches across, although some are larger or smaller, and weighing about 2 pounds. They were used as a form of currency in parts of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Their name derives from Katanga, a rich copper mining region in the south-eastern portion of the country.

These X-shaped ingots were cast by native coppersmiths. They were cast by pouring molten copper into sand molds.

[edit] Original value

A Katanga Cross would buy about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of flour, five or six chickens or six axes. Two would buy a gun.

In 1961, Katanga (which had declared its independence from The Congo) issued its own coins. As an homage to its heritage, the coins depicted the Katanga Cross. (Katanga was forcibly reunited with The Congo in 1963.)