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![Mohrland 5 and 10 Stick Exploder Tokens.JPG - MOHRLAND EXPLODER TOKENS - 2 brass exploder tokens, #1 on left is 1 1/2 in. dia. marked MOHRLAND MERCANTILE COMPANY, GOOD FOR 10 STICKS POWDER, MOHRLAND, UTAH, SL Stamp Co (Salt Lake maker), same marking on obverse; #2 on right is 1 3/16 in. dia., marked MOHRLAND MERCANTILE COMPANY, GOOD FOR 5 STICKS POWDER, MOHRLAND, UTAH, SL Stamp Co (Salt Lake maker), obverse marked GOOD FOR 5 STICKS POWDER (MOHRLAND is a ghost town located in Emery County, Utah approximately 13 miles southwest of Price. Lying in Cedar Creek Canyon near the Carbon County line, Mohrland was Emery County's largest coal mining town. Coal mining in Cedar Creek Canyon began on a small scale sometime before 1896, producing coal mainly for local home heating use. In 1907 an investment group bought the mine and surrounding land and incorporated as the Castle Valley Fuel Company. The name Mohrland was selected for the townsite at the Cedar Creek mine of the Castle Valley Coal Company, assembled from the last names of the coal company's organizers: M-O-H-R-land; James H. Mays, Walter C. Orem, Moroni Heiner, and Winsor V. Rice. Coal started shipping by April 1910, and despite Castle Valley Fuel's financial problems, the town continued growing. A business district was soon established in Mohrland, including a hospital, company boarding house, Errol Charlestrom's Wasatch Store, a post office, and several saloons. In 1915 ownership of the mine was transferred to the United States Fuel Company, which also ran the town of Hiawatha just to the north. By 1920 Mohrland had over 200 houses, a large amusement hall, and a school. The population was about 1000. Mohrland was a company town throughout its history; the mine owners essentially ran the town. The company worked to make it a pleasant place to live, despite its location at the edge of the desert. The streets were lined with shade trees, and a small stream ran along the canyon bottom. The most successful years were the early 1920s, but by 1925 coal prices and profits were down. On March 1, 1925 United States Fuel closed down the mine without warning, leaving Mohrland's residents without jobs and without credit at the company store. The company store was the Mohrland Mercantile Co. operated by the United States Fuel Co. between 1916 and 1939. The company reopened Mohrland just as suddenly in September 1926, and the town struggled back to its feet. In 1930 the population was 620. Coal production continued to become less profitable during the Great Depression. In 1938 United States Fuel announced a decision to close Mohrland and consolidate mining operations at Hiawatha, which had a slightly shorter shipping route and more room to build a new preparation plant. The buildings were sold to a salvage company for $50 each, later moved and very little of the town was left behind. [EXPLODER TOKENS were issued by coal companies for the controlled distribution of explosives and related items such as fuse, detonators and squibs. It is thought the number of exploder token varieties probably number less than 300. The exploder tokens are part of the larger story regarding mining company scrip. By definition, scrip is any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrip was created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money was unavailable, such as remote locations or occupied countries in war time. Although private businesses issued scrip for banks, textiles, lumber, railroads, land and other purposes, the heaviest use of scrip certainly in the latter part of the 1800s and early to mid 1900s was by coal mining companies. Coal company scrip was a credit against the accrued wages of miners. In the U.S., where everything in a mining camp was typically run, created and owned by the coal company, scrip provided the workers with credit when their wages had been depleted. Often located in remote, rugged areas, far away from banks and stores, mining camps were cash poor. Partially from a need to supply household goods to miners and partially to capitalize on an opportunity to make a profit, mine owners established company stores in their mining town. Since keeping currency on hand became quite difficult, the coal mining companies issued scrip. Workers had very little choice but to purchase meals and goods at the company store using this scrip. In this way, the company could place enormous markups on goods in the company store, making workers completely dependent on the company, thus enforcing their loyalty to the company. While scrip was a de facto form of currency, employees were rarely paid in scrip. Additionally, while employees could exchange scrip for cash, it was rarely done so at face value. Scrip in this context was valid only within that area or town where it was issued. While store owners in neighboring communities could accept the scrip as currency, they rarely provided an even exchange. Miners were given scrip in advance of their wages to not only buy necessities for the home, but also to pay rent on the company-owned houses they lived in, to buy tools and supplies for work, to pay utilities and medical care, and even to contribute to a mandatory funeral fund. All this was paid to the coal company. There was little retail competition in the coalfields and the prices at some company stores were often so high that miners virtually had nothing left to collect when payday arrived negating the need for cash currency. Scrip started out in paper form but by the early 1900s was commonly being created in brass, copper, and aluminum coins. Each company had its own version and each mine’s company store accepted only its own scrip. Coal company script tokens were typically issued in 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $10 and occasionally $20 denominations. In addition scrip was sometimes issued in ½¢ varieties as well. The federal and state governments ultimately outlawed the use of scrip and its use began to decline in the 1950s, disappearing entirely in the U.S. by the early 1970s. The most notable use of scrip in the U.S., especially in the 20th century, was the coal mining region of Appalachia and the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. However, the use of scrip was widespread across the country. One source lists 20,000 coal company stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico all of which used scrip between 1903 and 1958. See Donald Edkins, Edkins’ Catalogue of United States Coal Company Store Scrip, 1977; Johnson and Stutzer, Eureka #3, pp 29-32; Gaska, Mining Artifact Collector #3, p 27; and Fugera, A History of Scrip, National Scrip Collectors Association website]](Mohrland 5 and 10 Stick Exploder Tokens.JPG) |
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| Mohrland 5 and 10 Stick Exploder Tokens | MOHRLAND EXPLODER TOKENS - 2 brass exploder tokens, #1 on left is 1 1/2 in. dia. marked MOHRLAND MERCANTILE COMPANY, GOOD FOR 10 STICKS POWDER, MOHRLAND, UTAH, SL Stamp Co (Salt Lake maker), same marking on obverse; #2 on right is 1 3/16 in. dia., marked MOHRLAND MERCANTILE COMPANY, GOOD FOR 5 STICKS POWDER, MOHRLAND, UTAH, SL Stamp Co (Salt Lake maker), obverse marked GOOD FOR 5 STICKS POWDER (MOHRLAND is a ghost town located in Emery County, Utah approximately 13 miles southwest of Price. Lying in Cedar Creek Canyon near the Carbon County line, Mohrland was Emery County's largest coal mining town. Coal mining in Cedar Creek Canyon began on a small scale sometime before 1896, producing coal mainly for local home heating use. In 1907 an investment group bought the mine and surrounding land and incorporated as the Castle Valley Fuel Company. The name Mohrland was selected for the townsite at the Cedar Creek mine of the Castle Valley Coal Company, assembled from the last names of the coal company's organizers: M-O-H-R-land; James H. Mays, Walter C. Orem, Moroni Heiner, and Winsor V. Rice. Coal started shipping by April 1910, and despite Castle Valley Fuel's financial problems, the town continued growing. A business district was soon established in Mohrland, including a hospital, company boarding house, Errol Charlestrom's Wasatch Store, a post office, and several saloons. In 1915 ownership of the mine was transferred to the United States Fuel Company, which also ran the town of Hiawatha just to the north. By 1920 Mohrland had over 200 houses, a large amusement hall, and a school. The population was about 1000. Mohrland was a company town throughout its history; the mine owners essentially ran the town. The company worked to make it a pleasant place to live, despite its location at the edge of the desert. The streets were lined with shade trees, and a small stream ran along the canyon bottom. The most successful years were the early 1920s, but by 1925 coal prices and profits were down. On March 1, 1925 United States Fuel closed down the mine without warning, leaving Mohrland's residents without jobs and without credit at the company store. The company store was the Mohrland Mercantile Co. operated by the United States Fuel Co. between 1916 and 1939. The company reopened Mohrland just as suddenly in September 1926, and the town struggled back to its feet. In 1930 the population was 620. Coal production continued to become less profitable during the Great Depression. In 1938 United States Fuel announced a decision to close Mohrland and consolidate mining operations at Hiawatha, which had a slightly shorter shipping route and more room to build a new preparation plant. The buildings were sold to a salvage company for $50 each, later moved and very little of the town was left behind. [EXPLODER TOKENS were issued by coal companies for the controlled distribution of explosives and related items such as fuse, detonators and squibs. It is thought the number of exploder token varieties probably number less than 300. The exploder tokens are part of the larger story regarding mining company scrip. By definition, scrip is any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrip was created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money was unavailable, such as remote locations or occupied countries in war time. Although private businesses issued scrip for banks, textiles, lumber, railroads, land and other purposes, the heaviest use of scrip certainly in the latter part of the 1800s and early to mid 1900s was by coal mining companies. Coal company scrip was a credit against the accrued wages of miners. In the U.S., where everything in a mining camp was typically run, created and owned by the coal company, scrip provided the workers with credit when their wages had been depleted. Often located in remote, rugged areas, far away from banks and stores, mining camps were cash poor. Partially from a need to supply household goods to miners and partially to capitalize on an opportunity to make a profit, mine owners established company stores in their mining town. Since keeping currency on hand became quite difficult, the coal mining companies issued scrip. Workers had very little choice but to purchase meals and goods at the company store using this scrip. In this way, the company could place enormous markups on goods in the company store, making workers completely dependent on the company, thus enforcing their loyalty to the company. While scrip was a de facto form of currency, employees were rarely paid in scrip. Additionally, while employees could exchange scrip for cash, it was rarely done so at face value. Scrip in this context was valid only within that area or town where it was issued. While store owners in neighboring communities could accept the scrip as currency, they rarely provided an even exchange. Miners were given scrip in advance of their wages to not only buy necessities for the home, but also to pay rent on the company-owned houses they lived in, to buy tools and supplies for work, to pay utilities and medical care, and even to contribute to a mandatory funeral fund. All this was paid to the coal company. There was little retail competition in the coalfields and the prices at some company stores were often so high that miners virtually had nothing left to collect when payday arrived negating the need for cash currency. Scrip started out in paper form but by the early 1900s was commonly being created in brass, copper, and aluminum coins. Each company had its own version and each mine’s company store accepted only its own scrip. Coal company script tokens were typically issued in 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, $5, $10 and occasionally $20 denominations. In addition scrip was sometimes issued in ½¢ varieties as well. The federal and state governments ultimately outlawed the use of scrip and its use began to decline in the 1950s, disappearing entirely in the U.S. by the early 1970s. The most notable use of scrip in the U.S., especially in the 20th century, was the coal mining region of Appalachia and the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. However, the use of scrip was widespread across the country. One source lists 20,000 coal company stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico all of which used scrip between 1903 and 1958. See Donald Edkins, Edkins’ Catalogue of United States Coal Company Store Scrip, 1977; Johnson and Stutzer, Eureka #3, pp 29-32; Gaska, Mining Artifact Collector #3, p 27; and Fugera, A History of Scrip, National Scrip Collectors Association website] |  Original Image |
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