Wampum Beads – Glass Trade

Wampum Beads – Glass Trade

These mini glass wampum beads come in Black, White and Greasy Yellow. These Wampum Beads measure 5 mm – 6mm long (that’s just over 1/8″).  You will find them ideal for 18th century reproduction work.

Bead makers produced beads like these in Europe in the 1700s. Traders brought them to North America. Native American crafters used  these glass beads in place of actual Quahog Shell Wampum beads.

We sell them by the ounce (approx. 125 beads per ounce for Black and White, 180 for Greasy Yellow) and the 1/2 Kilo (17 ounces).  Our current stock of Black and White is on the longer side.  They do not have rounded ends and the sizes do vary in length and width.

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History of Trade Beads

From the 15th to the 20th century, traders carried European glass beads across the world. Native Americans highly desired glass beads as glass was then an unknown substance in North American. European glass beads, mostly from Venice, some from Holland and, later, from Poland and Czechoslovakia, became popular and sought after by Native Americans. Europeans realized early on that beads were important to Native Americans. Corporations such as the Hudson Bay Trading Company developed lucrative bead-trading markets with them. The Hudson Bay Trading Company was an organized group of explorers who ventured into the North American continent for trade expeditions during the 19th century.