bjherbison
This request would be more compelling if you provided sources to back up your statements.
Egyptian nummulites are nowhere to be found within Charles Opitz’s “ODD & CURIOUS AND TRADITIONAL MONEY”, which is the most comprehensive and accurate reference for ethnographic/proto money.
In this case, the burden of proof lies on those claiming these are truly proto coins imho. The original “source” used by every site (including Wikipedia) that claims these were coins is an article from the Washington Post that mentions the theory in passing and is also completely devoid of any citations or sources to support the claim (Kaplan, Sarah, Brilliance without a brainArchived 2018-03-08 at the Wayback Machine, Speaking of Science, The Washington Post, March 7, 2018).
The story that nummulites were used as currency within ancient Egypt is nothing more than “European folklore” (Auckland Museum), akin to the “fairy coins” (fossilized crinoid stems) found in British streams. Nummulites are index fossils found globally, in such high numbers that there are entire geologic members composed of them. They fit none of the requirements to be money, and there are 0 reputable sources that back the claim.
