Ancient Celts Used Butter as Currency to Pay Taxes

Before coins and paper money, the ancient Irish had butter. In Celtic Ireland, butter was a valuable commodity that served as a medium of exchange. People used it to pay taxes, settle debts, and barter for goods. The value was so great that people began burying their butter in peat bogs, creating a primitive form of savings account. The cool, low-oxygen, acidic environment of bogs acted as a natural preservative, keeping the butter edible for centuries. To date, over 430 instances of bog butter have been discovered across Ireland, with the oldest specimens dating back to the Iron Age around 600 BC. Some finds have been enormous, including a 100-pound chunk discovered in 2013 estimated to be 5,000 years old. A chef who tasted ancient bog butter described the sensation as going right up your nose, while modern experiments in bog butter production have yielded flavors ranging from animal to salami.