Trade Items and Their Values

During the fur trade era, trade items were not generally given a dollar value. Such a value would have been meaningless in the wilderness where the trading occurred. Instead, trade items were given a “point value”. For example a beaver pelt would be worth one point, or one plus (pronounced ploo). Here are some commonly traded items and their approximate value around 1816 in the Great Lakes Region:

Trade items Approximate value

1 beaver pelt 1 plus 10 muskrat pelts 1 plus 1 otter pelt 2 plus 1 skunk or 1 deer pelt 1/2 plus 1 looking glass 1 plus 10 silver ear bobs 1 plus 1 small blanket 3 plus cotton chemise 3 plus 2 yards scarlet cloth 6 plus 2 gallons diluted rum 5 plus trade gun 10 plus 1 ax 2 plus 1 hank of white beads 4 plus 5 large blue beads 4 plus 1 small tin kettles 3 plus 1 large brass kettle 7 plus silver cross 1 plus 20 knives 1 plus 5 fish hooks 1 plus 1 trap 5 plus 6 fire steels 1 plus 1 pair silver arm bands 4 plus 1 yard red ribbon 1/2 plus 1 yard yellow /blue ribbon 1/2 plus 1 25-foot birch bark canoe 20 plus 1 five lb. container of maple sugar 2 plus 1 fifty lb. sack of wild rice 3 plus 1 fifty lb. sack of dry corn 3 plus Guide service on the river 11 plus 1 pair of snowshoes 2 plus 100 dry white fish 6 plus