What is "seawan"

Seawan \Sea"wan\, Seawant \Sea"want\, n. The name used by the Algonquin Indians for the shell beads which passed among the Indians as money.

Note: Seawan was of two kinds; wampum, white, and suckanhock, black or purple, -- the former having half the value of the latter. Many writers, however, use the terms seawan and wampum indiscriminately.
--Bartlett.

n. wampum (qualifier: small beads made from polished shells).