More Bang for Your Book

The Numismatist’s “Humor” columnist Jerry Cestkowski has released a book about dynamite that includes numismatic tidbits. Titled American Dynamite, it is the first and only comprehensive illustrated history of high explosives in the United States. The history of the manufacture, sale, and use of dynamite is brought to life with artifacts, advertisements, articles, and analysis. This includes a brief explanation of how tokens were employed in the business of mining. 

Mining Tokens & Scrip

When one hears of explosives, tokens probably do not come to mind. However, the connection between the two is rich with history. At a remote coal mine, there was no source of goods nearby. The closest merchants might be 20 or 30 miles away, making it virtually impossible to obtain food and supplies. The solution was a company store, which was operated by the mine owner. Because workers also needed housing, company towns arose, some with their own churches, hospitals, and schools. Company stores and towns faded as the automobile enabled access to regular commerce.

Many coal-mining company stores issued scrip, which consisted of tokens or coupons that were redeemable only at the company store. Merchants of all sorts had long employed tokens and coupons for advertising purposes. Like scrip, the tokens and coupons were redeemable only at specific shops. Scrip, however, was a form of compensation for work. Scrip was often advanced against pay so miners could get the supplies they needed between paychecks, or on day one of employment. These supplies included explosives and their accoutrements, and tokens were issued redeemable for dynamite, fuse, blasting powder, and blasting caps.

According to tokens expert David Schenkman, technically, “Exploder tokens, however, are not scrip. As you will see, they were intended for a specific purpose, and could not be spent for merchandise at coal mine company stores.” (Schenkman’s book, Explosive Control Tokens, while more than 30 years old, is still considered the bible of this realm of the hobby.) Nonetheless, most were handled by company stores. Both “exploder token” and “explosive control token” are terms used only by collectors; miners called them counters or checks. While mining scrip was denominated in dollars and cents, explosives tokens were usually valued in terms of a quantity of supplies: ONE STICK OF POWDER, or FIVE EXPLODERS. Although explosive control tokens aren’t nearly as numerous as general-use scrip, they are typically collected alongside scrip and make for an unusual and interesting area of numismatics.

Learn More

You can discover more about these pieces and the history associated with the era in American Dynamite, available at online booksellers—including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Schiffer Publishing—for $49.99. The 232-page, 8.5- x 11-inch hardbound book contains more than 450 images and is as informative as it is entertaining.