Scrip Trivia

William Fugera

The earliest use of coal in the Americas was by the Aztecs. They used coal for heat and ornaments.

The use of wooden posts to support a mine roof was an innovation first introduced about 1800.

Richard Sutcliffe invented the first conveyor belt for use in coal mines in the early 1900s.

In 1984 Australia surpassed the US as the world’s largest coal exporter.

Federal legislation passed in the 1930s granted workers the right to organize unions.

Cut outs in scrip were done to provide an aid for quick identification. Many coal miners were non-English speaking. In addition there were many miners that could not read or write in any language. Also cut outs made it possible for miners to string scrip and attach it to a belt buckle or a lunch pail handle. Some cut outs were made to indicate denomination as well as mine number, coal company initials, etc.

Many coal companies did not use the penny denomination scrip due to the fact the metal value was close or equal to its face value.

Some scrip was nickel plated over brass or copper to reduce handling wear. The nickel plate also made nicer looking scrip. Today most bathroom and kitchen faucets are nickel plated over brass for appearance and wear protection.

Zinc metal was used to produce some scrip during World War II due to the need for copper as a critical war material.

Aluminum scrip should not be cleaned with a caustic type cleaner. Aluminum will dissolve in caustic cleaners such as lye. Over time an aluminum oxide film will form on the surface of aluminum. It is very tenacious and will increase handling wear.