As money is defined by its functions, various instruments are fundamentally capable of acting as money, as long as they can be used as a medium of exchange, medium of payment and store of value. Shells were previously used as money in some countries, for example, as were furs, salt or pearls.
Livestock could also serve as money – the Latin word for cattle is “pecus” from which the word “pecunia”, meaning money, is derived. Concrete objects have served as money for most of human history; we may therefore speak of commodity money.