Got black powder?

[Ray in CA]

Went out for just about an hour today to schoolyard #4 (I can't call it silver schoolyard just yet as no silver has been found there), and on the third or fourth signal I pulled up this neat token from the Mendota Coal and Coke company. It's big, about the size of a half dollar, and it was DEEP, around 10". Nice to know I'm not missing any big silver way down below. This one rung up +36 on the Safari.

Got this off the internet which gives a bit of history of the company:

MENDOTA, a town in the northwestern part of Lewis County [Washington state], named in 1908 by the Mendota Coal and Coke Company, who had a mining company in Missouri with the same name. (P. L. Hansen, in "Names MSS.," Letter 74.)

I'm just curious as to why the token is for 8 1/3 lbs. Was that a standard unit back then?

HH,

Ray

 

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[riverdolphin]

Don't have any idea about the 8 1/3 pounds, but really interesting token. Deffinately a different time. Think you would need more than a token to get your hands on 8 1/3 pounds now days. Plus, you might would be seen as a terrorist if you tried!

 

[rjw4law]

Curious

 

[truckinbutch]

Probably the amount of powder that an industrious handloading miner would need to load his round of shots drilled into a coal face to shoot out what he could load in a shift .
If you didn't produce enough coal in the shift you weren't worth your powder .

 

[ashleysflyr]

That is the coolest token I have ever seen!

~Tom

 

[kuger]

That is insane!!WOW!!Yea,I agree hard to get powder right now, probably forever!!!

 

[truckinbutch]

Miners in the handloading days were paid piece work for their production and supplies were deducted from their settlements . A few days of low production and he could owe the 'company store' more than he made .
If he was unlucky enough to get killed while owing his wife and /or kids had to work off the debt .

 

[Ray in CA]

Thanks for the comments, folks. truckinbutch, that's some great information. Thanks!

Ray

 

[intimer]

company may been owned by the centralia eastern railroad company.
in business 1908 to 1932.

 

[briankb70]

very cool token

 

[Brian(upstateNY-Central Fla.)]

Thats a very nice token but not sure on the amount??
I like it tho

 

[DigginThePast]

Very cool token. Congrats on your find.

 

[allen]

nice token !
put it on the token forum also !

 

[scratcher]

I'm thinking kegs of black powder used to come in 25lb kegs, a third would be 8 1/3 lbs. Maybe this will help someone come up with the reason for that exchange rate. (Three miners working together, three tokens needed for a full keg, etc.....)

 

[intimer]

i asked a few guys that collect this sort of token and a guy that collects memoribilia from the early days of the mines, like lighting devices, lunch boxes, advertising, safety devices.....on and on....

the best guess was 8 1/3 was a measure of the powder. said it would make sense that much for a shift for one person. the 25# keg would not be taken into the mine. it was portioned out. seemed to think a gallon paint can, or a flask of similar size would approximate the 8 1/3#.

there is a whole book written on the explosive control tokens of the mines.