Many people think that Manhattan was bought for beads worth about $24. The Dutch did buy Manhattan in 1636 for trade goods worth (at the time) about 24 gold dollars. That is a lot now, but still almost nothing for this important piece of land.
Were trade beads part of the trade goods? Most history books say so, but it is not true. There is no proof that beads were used to buy Manhattan. The story was started by Martha Lamb in her book on New York history in 1877 (250 years after the purchase) and almost everyone has copied her since then. But it is just a story. There is no evidence that beads bought Manhattan.
Not saying you are wrong, but when I teach this lesson, I have my students consider the humble bead. Imagine making a bead by hand using stone age tools. Under those circumstances, the smaller the bead, the more valuable—since a small bead would be so difficult to make. A handful of small beads would represent a small fortune to Indians—and the East Coast Indians did use beads as a form of currency.
Not unlike a lot of 'written' history I'm sure. One of the reasons I come to this site is for enlightenment, and I get a lot of it. Thanks for the school'n.