After World War I, the German government had very little money left. To pay its bills, Germany printed more money with really big numbers on it. This new money was almost worthless, though, because the prices of things went up too. In 1923 Germans needed a wheelbarrow full of this money to buy a loaf of bread.
Many communities have designed money in the shape of objects that are important to them, such as tools and weapons. They usually do not make them sharp, though. They were only supposed to be used to make payments.
This tall blade was used by a Turumbu (too-ROOM-boo) community of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for wedding gifts and to purchase important items, such as a canoe. It is 5 feet, 7 inches tall.