By Barry Krause
Coal mining had been around since prehistoric times but it was best known during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries when coal-fired factories and eventually railroads and steamboats replaced muscle power in manufacturing and transport.
Picks and shovels were the only tools of many 19th century coal miners, and genuine antique examples are choice collectibles today. In those days, women and children hauled coal out of the mines, and thousands were killed in accidents on the job.
Books, articles, original photos and family correspondence about those long ago coal miners are great paper collectibles, often passed down to later generations in the coal mining districts where they can end up as prized local museum exhibits.
Underground coal miners were injured or killed by cave-ins, falling rocks, falling long distances, poisonous gases, explosions, fires or, as we have seen in China recently, drowning in subterranean water floods.
Artificial light and ventilation were needed in deep underground coal mines and have created practical objects that are highly collectible, such as carbide head lamps that miners wore on their helmets to electric fans to circulate the air.
Miners’ clothing and safety gear can be overlooked and unrecognized for what it is if not identified when offered for sale. Rock bolts for stabilizing overhead rocks in underground tunnels gather dust as junk metal at garage sales until an informed mining collector snaps them up.
I suggest browsing through the 160 page guide book of “Antique Mining Equipment and Collectibles” by Pearson and Bommariot, published in 2002 and covering thirty categories including advertising, assay equipment and surveying gear, tokens and hundreds of tools and artifacts with color illustrations, $29.95 retail price.
New collectors are surprised to learn that many early 19th century miner’s lamps survive. A cast iron example with a reservoir four inches high and a hanging hook is pictured in “The Encyclopedia of Collectibles,” Volume 9 (1979).
It was not unusual for a coal miner to bring home a souvenir of his daily work, such as a piece of coal or colorful geode of mineral crystals, a scrap of timber with sentimental significance, a friend’s I.D. tag or other personal possession given as a gift to a fellow miner for help rendered in a crisis. Good luck on buying these with authentic provenance (ownership history) and clear title.
Old mining company stock certificates are fascinating collectibles. Look for old certificates with ornately engraved vignettes (little pictures) of miners at work, with no cancellation holes or other defects in the paper.
The well known dealer R.M. Smythe & Co. of New York City will do research on antique stocks and bonds for a fee to learn if they still have investment value, but this can be a waste of money in the typical case where the issuing company is obsolete and insolvent.
I suggest that you enjoy the antique fiscal paper such as coal mining stocks and bonds for their own sake as colorful historical pieces to study and collect. They are often signed by prominent officers of the mining firms, whose lives figure a lot in local history where their mines were located.
Methane gas is highly explosive and coal dust itself can ignite spontaneously. A coal mine fire at Cherry, Illinois killed 259 miners on Nov. 13, 1909, and a coal mine explosion killed 447 at Omuta, Japan on Nov. 9, 1963. Coal mine disaster memorabilia, such as picture postcards of the destruction and eyewitness letters, ensure that those lost miners won’t be forgotten.
In the old days, most coal miners and their families lived in “company towns” where they were likely to be paid in script instead of cash. This script was spent at the overpriced company stores and can be scarce to find today because it had no value if saved.
Most coal miners were hopelessly in debt to their company, as we heard about in the song lyrics of:
“Sixteen tons, and what do I get? Another day older, and deeper in debt. Saint Peter, don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company store!”
Anything related to the rise of coal miner labor unions and the often stormy strugg1es between miners and their bosses is collectible history. Look for signed employee contracts and strike notices, original newspaper accounts of labor disputes, company broadsides that were nailed to the mine entrances, legal documents regarding worker rights and old photographs of rallies and protests.
If you are ever visiting Chicago, spend a day at the world famous Chicago Museum of Science and Industry where they have a life size model working “Coal Mine” exhibit. Retired Illinois coal miners will guide you through this realistic mock-up of a southern Illinois coal mine, complete with elevator shaft, moving underground rail cars which you get to ride on, and an assortment of modern coal mining tools that are explained and demonstrated.
This Coal Mine tour is always popular, so go early in the day and expect to wait in a long line. It requires an extra fee besides the Museum admission price, but is well worth it.
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