What kind of money did the Navajo use?

Answer 1

U.S. money today. Before 1848 Mexican pesos were used and before that Spanish money. Before the 1600s they and all the people of the SW used trade goods. The word in Navajo for money is béeso which comes from Spanish, peso.

We know that there were long range trade routes that traded in valuable items. All the four Navajo sacred jewels that are associated each with a direction were trade items. To the east is white shell. The source of this was the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. To the south is turquoise. There were mines in southern New Mexico and Arizona. There were many long range turquoise trading routes some all the way to Mexico. There were trade routes for salt and shells to the Sea of Cortez. West is abalone and there were established trade routes to the Pacific for abalone coral and other shells. North is the obsidian or jet direction and that was a trade item as well. Other trade items to and from or across the southwest were macaw feathers, cotton, bison skins, copper, parrots, and quetzal feathers, pottery, jasper, corn, turkeys, blankets and cloth, captives, paint, basketry, dried meat, squash seeds, salt, and shells of all sorts.