By National Scrip Collectors Association ……
The National Scrip Collectors Association (NSCA) will hold their semi-annual Spring Show in the heart of coal country in Beckley on Friday and Saturday, April 29 & 30, 2016 in the Appalachian Room at the Country Inn & Suites.
The Spring Show draws collectors and dealers from all around the United States to discuss and share knowledge of all aspects of scrip collecting, from new finds, to historical insights, and first person accounts from coal miners and family members. Tables will be set up where scrip can be bought, sold and traded.
Collectors can also take the opportunity to experience some of what life was like in the coal fields at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. The meeting room is reserved from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM on both Friday and Saturday. A special room rate of $89 has been graciously offered to NSCA members by the hotel. The Country Inn & Suites by Carlson is located at 2120 Harper Road, Beckley WV, 25801 and may be reached by phone at (304) 252-5100.
About Scrip
Scrip, whether paper or metal, was, in general, a form of credit extended by an employer against the employees future earnings (not unlike a debit card), a form of currency intended for redemption only in the employer’s company store or commissary for the purchase of food, clothing, tools and equipment–basically everything needed for daily life in the remote coal or lumber camps of the day.
Various forms were used by virtually every industry in the nation over a broad period of America’s industrial history, but played an especially lengthy and important role in the coal and lumber industries.
About the NSCA
The National Scrip Collectors Association was officially organized as a charitable and educational non-profit corporation on October 21, 1972 at Fayetteville, West Virginia. The NSCA’s objectives are to promote the collection of coal company store scrip (metal or paper) and related tokens; to cultivate the good relations between collectors of scrip tokens; and to encourage the study and research of the history of coal mining companies and company stores as it relates to the people of mining communities in the Scrip era.
Through its publishing efforts, the NSCA has been on the forefront of cataloging and recording the history of the scrip used by the coal companies and company stores throughout most of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Coal mining has played a critical role in the industrial growth of the United States and these relics used by the coal miners provide a tangible link to their dedication as well as mute testimony to this often still dangerous line of work. The Edkins Catalog of United States Coal Company Store Scrip, published by the NSCA in four editions over the past half century, has proven to be the benchmark work on the subject and lists almost 20,000 different pieces from all the coal-producing states, a number that grows each year. The Edkins catalog is the product of many years of devoted collectors and coal mining enthusiasts dedicated to preserving this aspect of American history.
For information on the NSCA, the history of coal scrip, and membership, please visit us at http://nationalscripcollectors.org.
