Scrip

Scrip was issued by numerous coal and lumber companies as an advance payment of wages. Those who waited for the regular payday were paid in cash. Scrip was used by the Stearns Company from 1902 until 1963. The frame pictured above is wormy chestnut grown in McCreary County. The wood came from the old Store #1 building erected in 1902. The Blue Heron sticker is a registered trademark. This set was donated to the McCreary County Museum in 2008 by Carol Thomas Littlejohn, the daughter of Dr. Frank Thomas.

The Stearns Coal and Lumber Company began making its own money circa 1913. They first printed coupon books in denominations of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, one dollar, and five dollars. Each denomination book was a different color. Employees of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company were usually paid in U.S. currency twice per month. When an employee requested an advancement on their pay they were paid in scrip that, initially, could only be used at company stores. This practice was widespread in the coal fields where most miners lived in company owned towns. The only store in town was usually owned and managed by the coal company.

Many miners were never able to settle their debt with the company store and scrip became the unofficial currency in some mining communities. Scrip was even found in the collection plates of the local churches. In the beginning, storekeepers used a ledger system but the bookkeeping became too tedious so companies, including the Stearns Company, began printing their own money in the form of scrip.

An article written by Fran Maierhauser for the South Kentucky RECC magazine in 1975 states, “In the 1930s, the Stearns Company began issuing script made of metal. It was in the same denominations as the coupon books. Most was made of brass – except for the one cent coin. The Stearns’ penny, which was smaller than a dime, was made of aluminum. During WWII, some companies made scrip from compressed fiber, a paper-like substance to save metal for the war effort. The Stearns Company never used the compressed fiber substance for scrip.

Stearns’ metal scrip soon became an accepted medium of payment – even in stores not owned by the Stearns Company. The money was redeemable in U. S. currency since an equivalent amount was held in escrow by the company for that purpose. Frequently, wholesale companies would redeem the scrip for their own retail stores and use the scrip as payment in purchasing materials from the R. L. Stearns Wholesale Company.”

Some employees of the Stearns Company were not allowed an advancement on their wages. Clerks in Stearns Company stores, bookkeepers, servers in the Coffee Shop, timekeepers, and those with management positions had to wait until payday. One of the duties of timekeepers was to dispense scrip. The distribution of scrip was discontinued by the Stearns Company in 1964 and much of the scrip held in the company office was destroyed. Former employees held onto the scrip they had and today scrip is highly valued by local historians and collectors.

On display in the McCreary County Museum is scrip from numerous companies including Premier Coal Company in Yamacraw, KY; Barren Fork Coal Company; New Cumberland Coal Company located in the Indian Head and Natural Arch area; C. Cordell Coal Company; Pine Knot Coal Company in Strunk, KY; West Jellico Coal Company in Strunk, KY; Bryant Brothers in Pine Knot; Mahan Jellico Coal Company in Packard located in Whitley County; Jellico Coal Company in Mountain Ash located in Whitley County; Jellico B & G Coal Company in Jellico, TN; Bon Jellico Coal Company in Bon Jellico, KY located in Whitley County; Cooper’s Store in Scott County, TN; and Johnson’s Department Store in Jamestown, TN.

For comments or additional information email Debbie Kidd-Trammell at [email protected].