These long, thick iron wires, usually between 12 and 15 inches long, were traded throughout Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. With the exception of Guinea, kissi pennies were still in use in the 1970s. The ends were flattened, with one of the ends shaped like a wing, and the wires were often bundled and twisted togehter to create higher values. They were called the coins with soul, and if a penny was broken, it could not circulate until repaired by a blacksmith, who would restore its "soul."