Koppers Stores Inc. Mining Scrip Token

[jonnied1]

Found this over the weekend. Researched and found a sad history relating to mining scrip.

 

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A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

That is a super cool find! Tokens have good stories behind them!

 

[Mackaydon]

Welcome to Treasure Net !!
KOPPERS STORES DIV. / 1 / KS (TC-380135) Beards Fork, West Virginia (Fayette County), U.S.A.
and
KOPPERS STORES DIV. / 1 / KS (TC-257779) Beards Fork, West Virginia (Fayette County), U.S.A.

Don......

 

[jadocs]

Share the story!

 

[jonnied1]

Share the story!

Here is a link to some information about the mining company and one of the coal mines.

http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/loga...kopperston.htm

The best information I could find on this token is here.
Old information though. the one I found is the "Patented" token at that time they said there were only 150-199 known to exist.
www.cointalk.com › Forums › CoinTalk › What's it Worth
Quote from this page below:
Koppers issued tokens with the names of Koppers Coal & Trans Co., Koppers Coal Co., Koppers Coal Division, Koppers Store, Koppers Stores Co., Koppers Stores Div., & Koppers Stores Inc. (your token). Fourteen of the company stores are known to have used these tokens (store ids K647 thru K660), but there were additional stores of the same name (store ids K619 thru K646). The stores known to have used this token were all in West Virginia, but there were also stores in PA & KY. The known stores were located in the cities of Kimberly, Mt. Hope, Gamoca, Beards Fork, Ingram Branch, Powellton, Pemberton, Stanaford, Grant Town, Everettville, Wharton, Maitland, Kimball, and Keystone. The number of employees at these mine locations ranged from 118 to 2260, and years of operation ranged from only 1936 to 1937. My 1971 ref. listed it at $ .25.

My 2002 book is much more descriptive, but I will leave the above as additional information. Your token is from Beards Fork (Fayette County), WV. That mine had 480 employees. Your token should be 18mm in diameter and made of (brass, bronze or copper). Edkins id # is WV177-G1. There are known varieties. It is listed as an R1 (very common) rarity, meaning that there are 300 or more known (yes, just two zeros following the 3). The 2002 ref. lists a value for R1 tokens at $1.75.

If you would like to watch what one goes for on ebay, search for item 380173689646. Their pics are not good, so I am not certain that it is the same as yours. If the banner wording says "Reg. U.S. Pat. Off." then it is the same as yours. If it says "Patented", then it is an R3 rarity (150-199 known), but would still be from the same store.