Stone money is a large circular stone disk that was cut out of limestone. The stones they used were from Palau and were transported to the island of Yap. The Yap use these great stones as a sign of currency. Some stones were to large to move, so if an item or items were purchased with one of the stones then the owner of the new stones would have the stone sit on the previous owners yard.The largest stone ever recorded was 12 feet in diameter and 1.5 feet thick and weighed 8,800 pounds! Everyone on the island new though that that stone now belonged to the new owner even though it still sat on the original owners lawn. If someone dies while the stone is being transported or a famous sailer brought the stone in, the stones value will increase. The earliest limestone that has thought to have been mined dates back to 500 CE, however widespread mining began between 1000 – 1400 CE. The Yapese discovered the rock on Palau abut 500- 600 years ago. Limestone was nonexistent in Yap so to them limestone was our gold. They have found flat stones that date up to 2000 years old, so one could only guess this has been tradistion for a long time.