Trade beads are manufactured by making use of designs that are centuries old and first came from European places. In the olden days these trade beads were used as currency for trading between nations and their colonies. The antique beads being very rare are extremely expensive and come from this era. So if you come across some that are being sold really cheap then a doubt should creep into your mind.

Trade beads also known as slave beads are actually decorative glass beads that were used some time during the sixteenth and twentieth centuries as a form of currency to trade for merchandise, services as well as slaves and hence the name. Made to make the passage of European adventurists and traders easier as they crossed the African continents, these antique beads of today were then manufactured throughout Europe but mainly in Venice. Trade beads were also found in the United States and mainly in Latin America as well as Canada.

The manufacture of these trade beads became so well liked that loads of them were used for the purpose of trading. These antique beads were even used as ballast in trade or slave ships when they were going out to trade. The beads were then exchanged for slaves, gold, ivory and other things required in Europe and other parts of the world. The trade beads were not of a fixed design but were made as per the demand. Millefiori beads said to be a thousand flower beads from Venice in Italy are the most commonly traded beads and are often referred to as African trade beads or simply African beads. They were manufactured by making stripes or flowers for canes made of glass that were cut and then molded to get a core of real color.

The success this kind of currency in trade beads had can be credited to the important inherent value African people place on ornamental items. Africans used these antique beads then as a form of currency and storing wealth and one could recognize the social status of a person simply by looking at the quality as well as the quantity and design of the jewelry being worn. Hence the demand for these trade beads in Africa was very high.

Many glass beads made in Venice were shipped to different places in Africa to be exchanged as trade beads with bead traders before they got to the chiefs of tribes or the rulers. There were also African beads made in Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and other African countries. Collectors of beads all over the world know how to appreciate the good looks, uniqueness, resilience and economic value of these antique beads. Besides, there are plenty of these genuine African beads that are made good use of by clothing designers as well as jewelry makers. You can even buy these beads off the Net now any time you please and from the comfort of your home.