free hosting   image hosting   hosting reseller   online album   e-shop   famous people

SCRIP - By Chris Jones
 
Hello everybody, I thought maybe a few would be interested in the scrip that
 was used at the big 30 store at Kenvir. First of all, most coal companies in the early years from about 1900 to the 1940,s used some form of scrip. Most of the coal companies actually did not pay their employees in scrip, but scrip was used as a credit system. The miners were usually held back a month on their pay, so it was necessary to obtain credit at the commissary. A miner, or in most cases his wife, would go to the scrip office, close to ,or even in the commissary and would "cut" scrip on her husbands payday, thus on payday the company would deduct the amount drawn in scrip, plus other deductions such as doctor, union dues etc. The company had a scrip machine that issued a certain denomination of scrip. There were two cards that fit in this machine,one
for miner and one for the company, the machine would double stamp these cards,
and would show how much dollar amount that drawn out in scrip. After deductions
on payday, whatever amount was left would be paid to the miner in cash money. My
grandfather Helton , who was a motorbarn repairman at the Kenvir mines, always
said you could tell how a man could manage his income, by how much cash he would
draw on payday. The Black Mountain Corp. mines at Kenvir,  #s 30, 31, used scrip
from their beginning in 1918 till about the beginning of World War II. Their
scrip was in the standard coin amounts of penny, nickel, dime,quarter,half
dollar, and dollar pieces. This scrip was manufactured for the company by Ohio
cash register companies. The first series of scrip,was made by the Insurance
Credit system Inc., of Dayton Ohio. The second series and the last series ,were
made by the Osborne Register company of Cincinnati. There were three series all
together at Kenvir. Some would ask why was there three different series? The
answer would be in that this was a tremendously busy place, in a rough hard work
environment. The metal scrip simply wore out. The scrip itself was usually made
of soft brass or a nickel alloy. The first set of Black mt. scrip was all nickel
covered yellow brass. The second set was nickel alloy. The last set was aluminum
for the penny, and yellow brass and copper for the other pieces. The first set
of Kenvir scrip had a half moon "cut out" or punch. Most of the different Coal
companies had their own punch out, which was a design cut out of the particular
coin. Other than the half moon cut out, on the first set of Kenvir scrip, it
also simply read on the face of the coin" The Black Mt. Corp. This early set of
Kenvir scrip is extremely rare, and if you have a piece you are quite lucky. I
have only the nickel in this set, though I have seen the whole set,that a
collector I know has. The second set of scrip, was made by a different company,
as stated before, and had a keystone cut out. This is exactly like the state of
Pennsylvania logo. "The Keystone State".  Again it was produced penny through the
dollar. It was changed in that it also gave the town name" The Black Mt.Corp.
Inc./ Kenvir Ky. This set of scrip is also pretty rare. I own a couple pieces of
this set. It was probably used throughout the early and mid 1930,s. This second
set was made for the Kenvir mines by the Osborne register company of Cincinnati
Ohio. The last set of Kenvir scrip ever made, and what I personally think is the
most beautiful set, was struck by Osborne register in probably about 1937 0r
maybe even 39, or 40. The Company apparently ran short of quarters in this
series, and had a quantity struck in 1939 that bears the date on the coin. This
is the only one I know of that has the date on it. This last set of scrip, has
the dear old familiar heart cut out, with the word Great above this. I know you
all know that old logo " Great Heart Coal, The best coal in the world". It also
retained the name Black Mt. Corp. Inc., and at the bottom, again the name of the
town, Kenvir Ky. The penny in this last series is made of aluminum and is
probably the most common piece that can be found today. The nickel
and half and dollar are copper,and the dime and quarter are lovely yellow brass.
The reverse of these pieces have the manufacture logo, ORCO, Osborne register
compnay, Cincinnati OH. The manufacture company also supplied the Scrip machines
that set in the mine office to punch the cards and dispense the amount of scrip.
A company the size of Kenvir probably had two or three of the big cash register
looking machines. Oh what I would give to know where they went to! Wouldn't it
be great to have one of these original machines at our reunion and watch that
thing ring and roll out that scrip,  just like it did so many years ago.This last
set of scrip is also very valuable and much sought after. I have the whole set
of this, and it took a while to get it. The dollar piece is the key, it is hard
to come by.Every now and then someone today will dig a side walk or something
and uncover an old piece of this scrip. I would guess there is a lot of it in
the ground here at Kenvir somewhere. The coming of World War II and better union
wages and conditions brought and end to scrip at Kenvir and other are mines.
Some other places used it through the 1950's but Kenvir Black Mt. started paying
their miners in cash advance, instead of scrip. The demand for metal in WWII,
saw almost all of the Black Mt. scrip cashed in at the store, and sold for
scrap, to be melted down for the war effort. That is why it is very hard to
find. I have a few more things to add, but I believe I will offer that as a part
two, as I know this is getting long. Thank you all, and have a great Day!

======================================================

 Good Morning Chris , Thanks for the scrip info. I remember back when i was
growing up having to take my dads scrip card and go up to the store and get in
line wit a lot of other people at the pay window and draw his money . When mom
needed something from the store all we had to do was sign our name. Also if you
bought too much to carry , the store would deliver. I remember the delivery
driver was Lon, from colored camp.He was a hero for saving a childs life from
drowning once during a cloudburst that flooded the creek ad the child was in the
creek and he jumped in and got him out. I wonder if anybody else remembers Lon.
Jimmy Jones

=======================================================

Oct 17, 2002
Scrip part 2

Good morning to all, I never knew how much enjoyment I would get just talking to
everyone and sharing a little of what I know, and learning from everyone else. I
had a few more thoughts to share about the scrip used at Kenvir. My grandfather
Jones operated a country store from about 1937 till 1982 or so. He related to me
how they would accept the Black Mt. scrip at their store at Dizney(about 2 miles
from the 30 commissary) They would take it at a discount, and turn it back in at
the company office. He said they would have a cigar box full of it. I have
thought if he would have only kept some of it, but alas none was reserved. When
it was discontinued,it was practically worthless. No one wanted it. Who would
have thought it would be as sought after and valuable today. In 1983, Peabody
coal company turned 100 years old. Peabody owned the Kenvir mines, until it
closed in 1958. To commemorate their 100th year, Peabody had the $1.00 Black
Mt.heart cut out, piece of scrip, reproduced. It was struck from the original
dies, that had been, and I suppose still today, are stored in a vault in
Cincinnati,of the company that bought out Osborne register.This reproduced $1.00
piece of scrip was placed in a nice holder with a history of mining at Kenvir.
Peabody gave all their employees at all their mines a copy of this in 1983. I
felt this was a great honor to Kenvir, that they were chose out of the many,
many mines that Peabody operated in the United States. I made the comment to an
official that I met a few years ago, That worked for Peabody, that I was
surprised at this, I had figured that the company had forgot Kenvir when they
closed in 1958. This gentleman advised me that Peabody would never forget
Kenvir, because it still holds the title of "The best Coal in the world", It help
to make Peabody what it is today. I purchased at auction several years ago this
reproduction dollar in its holder. The only difference in it and the original,
is that it is stamped "copy" in very small letters on the bottom portion of the
piece. I will take some pictures of the pieces that I have ,so they can be
viewed on the web page.
 Thank you all, have a great day, and may God bless each one...Chris

=======================================================

Top of page

Return