Hudson Bay White Heart Beads-Beads such as these were heavily traded by the Hudson's Bay Trading Company, and were perhaps their main type of Trade Beads offered to Native Americans in exchange for fur-pelts. They were not only in North America, but Africa as well. Also know as White Heart Beads. The style was invented around 1480 or so. Red glass is colored using actual gold so the bead makers had to use it sparingly. Hence they would use a cheap color to fill the core of the bead, and the red would be just the outer layer. Green was used from 1480 to 1830, and in 1830 it was switched over from green to either yellow or white with a translucent red coat. Around 1860 they stopped using yellow and only used white. |