Kiihtelus

The Finnish word money ( raha ) originally meant squirrel skin. The Municipality of Kiihtelusvaara (Kiihtelus Sopka) , now a district of the city of Joensuu , in the province of North Karelia in Finland got its name due to this exchange measure .
Fur mining was an important industry in the old days in what is now Finland, and squirrel was the most important of fur animals. Fur was paid to foreign merchants for gold, salt and weapons; tax on the right to fishing, the local population was also paid squirrel skins.

Auli Tourunen. Animals in an Urban Context. A Zooarchaeological study of the Medieval and Post ‐ Medieval town of Turku