Anyone know anything about coal company tokens?
wjd283
Posts: 1,406
A feller came by wanting to sell me these.There were 90 of them,some were dups.Knowing nothing about them,I offered him $40.He allowed he had to have $300 so he took them back home.An ebay search says a few go for $30 each while smoe go for a buck or two.Should I have offered more,or am I better off without them ?
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no one will sell any for less than a dollar. Likely this has to do with several factors
and is at least partially justified. But they can be expensive to collect because there
are thousands different and no easy way to break in.
The collection is worth at least $90 wholesale but you'd have to ship it since a buyer
might never come along. While my knowledge of these is very limited this looks like
an actual collection rather than a mere accumulation of the most easily acquired issues.
It wouldn't surprise me if it would bring $300 or more on ebay quite easily.
It's called scrip and was used to pay workers (usually coal miners). It was redeem-
able only at the company store but was often insufficient for their needs so they had
to borrow from the store. Most miners were deep in debt to the employer and their
wages could not be used anywhere else.
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
This is a case where you'll be telling people in the future, how you screwed up years ago when you had a chance to buy these.
Ray
My main business is related to the coal business and I have always found them interesting.
<< <i>I have a few of these and would be interested in buying them if you can find that feller.... PM me if you do.
My main business is related to the coal business and I have always found them interesting. >>
I'll see if I can catch up with him.
I work 5PM to 5AM all weekend so it'll probably be Monday before you hear from me.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Cladking, what do you mean about there being no easy way to break into them?
<< <i>
Cladking, what do you mean about there being no easy way to break into them? >>
It's possible to find very inexpensive examples of most things so that you can
start a collection and begin trading for what you need. Or you can find a large
stash of a specifiic item and start trading them.
If you can't trade then you just have to pay the going rate and it's $1 per token.
Then you'll still have to work the scarcer issues after you get a good start on the
common ones and these will easily go five dollars to a hundred with a few very de-
sirable rarities bring more.
The lowest price I ever saw may have been a special price but was 2500 for $2500.
There was "great duplication" in this batch.
For comparison you can buy tax tokens for 4c, amusement tokens 1/2c, Mardi Gras 2c.
good-fors 25c, telephone tokens 25c, & transportation tokens 3c. It's very difficult to
find people willing to trade one type of token for another and not likely to work well if
you do because it is difficult to make trades which with both parties are satisfied. Coal
and lumber tokens take more commitment since it's a huge area and has to be fleshed
out at over a dollar per token.