A marine gastropod mollusc of the family Cypraeidae, with a glossy brightly-marked shell with an elongated opening (6)

(Other definitions for cowrie that I've seen before include "Shell sometimes used as form of money" , "Brightly marked seashell" , "Mollusc (shell used as money)" , "Marine gastropod with a shiny shell once used as money in some parts" , "Shell once used as currency" .)