Name:
Robert Hatfield
Email:
Subject:
Scrip quest
Message:
Hello! I was born and raised in the coalfields of Mingo County WV, in the seventies and eighties. My family first arrived in exactly the region I grew up (Gilbert area) in about 1800.
So my roots run deep there. I can remember my parents talking about scrip from the time I was a child. I’ve bought a piece or two over the years, including for my ex-mother in law, who grew up in the company town of Glen Alum.
Anyway, long story short(er)…
A couple of days ago, I ordered myself a custom cowboy hat and I have plans to customize it in a tasteful way to represent my heritage. One of the first things I thought about adding was a scrip coin… and almost immediately I ordered one from Etsy, from the New River coal company.
But then I started thinking about how much better it would be to incorporate one that has a more personal meaning. The first one I thought of was the War Eagle Coal Company.
My great uncle Burman worked in the mine there for a time. And when the mine wars reached there, he was hired by the company as a policeman. No less an authority than my late father told the story many times. According to him, Burman was a very bad man. He terrorized the miners. That is, he did until they ambushed him one night as he walked home one night along the tracks at War Eagle, shot him dead and threw him in the river.
Anyway, it’s a great piece of family lore… and I’d love to be able to find a piece of scrip from that company and/or company store. I asked AI about it and it told me this type of scrip is hard to find and suggested I reach out to you.
And here we are.
Do you think you could point me in the right direction in my search for a War Eagle coin?
Thanks for your time, and I really hope you can help me.
Robert Hatfield
Burnsville NC