Collecting scrip from states whose adjacent borders both produced coal can be perplexing but still can be enjoyable. Tug River separates West Virginia and Kentucky and both sides produced coal. Mingo County, WV borders Martin and Pike County, KY and all three counties were heavy producers of coal. The N&W Railroad was on the West Virginia side of the river but many mines were located in Kentucky and had West Virginia addresses.
Earlston Coal Company was located in Martin County, KY across the Tug River opposite Kermit, WV and caries a Kermit address.
Winco Block was located about a mile above Naugatuck, WV in Martin County but carries a West Virginia address also. Winco’s coal was conveyed across the river to the tipple on the West Virginia side.
Borderland Coal Corporation is another large concern which did the same as above but was located in Pike County, KY. Borderland scrip is not particularly hard to find and there is a wide variety to choose from.
However, when you start analyzing your collection, you will see that there is more variety than you suspected.
The A series is mixed and should be separated into A, B, and possibly C. Borderland Coal Co., Corporation and Corp. are bundled into the A classification. In addition there are two reverses. One has a solid number and one has open numbers with serrations.
An unlisted 10 cent piece with solid numbers has been found recently. In addition to this you have the B and C series, which have cutouts of 1 and 2, and the D series which is octagon and is marked Borderland Collieries Co.
If this is not enough to confuse you, another series has been found which is marked 1908 on the obverse. This is probably the earliest Borderland scrip as it is marked Co. and has the open, serrated numbers.
If this is not confusing enough you also have the Borderland Coal Co. at Armen in Bi-Metal with a 1913 date on the obverse. Armen is located just a short distance below Borderland.
I suspect that there are many pieces of Borderland still waiting to be discovered.
Whether you collect West Virginia or Kentucky, you will enjoy collecting Borderland.