The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 18, May 1, 2005, Article 24

COAL SCRIP ARTICLE PUBLISHED

The Charleston Gazette (of West Virginia) published a nice
article about coal scrip on April 29, 2005:

"It went by nicknames like clackers, flickers, chinky-tin and
dugaloos.

It looked like money and spent like money — though usually
faster, since prices were often artificially marked up for those
who relied on it to purchase the staples of life.

Not long after the last stores that traded in coal and lumber
company scrip faded into oblivion in the 1960s, the distinctive
brass, copper and aluminum coins redeemable only at company
stores took on a new life as collectors#39; items.

“Coal mine scrip has something of a tragically romantic image,
inspired in part by the Tennessee Ernie Ford song ‘16 Tons,#39;
and in part by the reality of the sad and dangerous lives most
miner families lived,” said Kevin Traube, a Beckley scrip
collector and dealer. “There are so many heart-tugging stories
behind these coins.”

"Scrip coins were issued in denominations of 1, 5, 25 and 50
cents, with 1-dollar coins often serving as the largest unit in a
coal or lumber company#39;s in-house trading system.

“Some companies issued 5-dollar, 10-dollar and even 20-dollar
coins, but they were rare,” said Singleton.

Along Hughes Creek, which flows through the hollow below
Singleton#39;s hillside home, there were once seven stores that
traded in scrip issued by either coal or lumber companies. A
former Valley Camp Coal Co. store — one of the state#39;s last
company stores to close — remains standing a few hundred
yards down U.S. 60."

“Some people collect scrip from their hometowns or their home
counties,” he said. “The book ‘Rocket Boys#39; made Coalwood
a popular place to collect scrip from."

The bible of coal company scrip collecting is the Edkins Catalogue,
which comes in two volumes — one for West Virginia and one
for the rest of the country. The West Virginia book is larger."

"The Edkins guides list numerous scrip tokens that were known
to have been produced but have so far failed to turn up in any
collectors#39; portfolios.

But small caches of the coins keep turning up.

“Collectors are finding pieces we didn#39;t even know were out
there,” said Singleton. “Some pieces are quite rare and are
becoming very valuable.”

To read the full article, see: Full Story

[We love words here at The E-Sylum, and "clackers, flickers,
chinky-tin and dugaloos" are real keepers. I couldn't have
made those up in a million years. -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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