Heres the Naughty and Nice list

[laplander]

2 coal miners tags

1913 barber dime

1900 v nickel

6 Indians ranging from 87 to 99

2 pump organ reeds

a blue Bennington and porcelain doll top off the eyeball finds

and a pile of poo

that's my Christmas list
hh Jeff

 

[unearth]

Nice List!!

 

[IDXMonster]

I like to use the acronym “PFOF” instead of “poo”. It starts out Pocket Full Of....Ill let you imagine the last one....
Awesome...besides the poo....

 

[sgoss66]

VERY nice digs, Laplander!

I am curious about those things you are calling "miner's tags..."

I have dug a few things somewhat similar to those, in Pennsylvania -- VERY much the same number "font" stamped onto them, but mine were round, not square. I have always wondered what they were...hmm...

I have also dug some of those things you are calling "pipe organ reeds," but again -- never knew what they were!

THANKS, Jeff!

Steve

 

[PryorCreekJoe]

Laplander,

Congrats on the digs. Nice old dirt site. If two of those pump organ reeds was all that you found, there are dozens more before you get them all. I got into one of those things a few years ago and finally walked away from the site with over 50 of them in my pouch. They drove me nuts because they sounded so good on the Explorer.

Joe

 

[UtahRich]

VERY nice digs, Laplander!

I am curious about those things you are calling "miner's tags..."

I have dug a few things somewhat similar to those, in Pennsylvania -- VERY much the same number "font" stamped onto them, but mine were round, not square. I have always wondered what they were...hmm...

Steve

Steve,

Those look a lot like TOOL TAGS. Used where there is a shop and one of the workers needs to CHECK OUT of piece of company equipment for use. The employee hands the person in charge of the TOOLS their Numbered TOOL TAG and is handed the TOOL. The TAG is hung on a nail where the tool would usually be. When the tool is returned, the employee is given back their TOOL TAG. If the tool isn't returned, the company knows who has it.

There are variations on the theme for places like bathing/swimming resorts where you would check in your clothes and would be given a tag with a # as to which bin your items were stored in while you were swimming. We have some of those locally from the old Saltair Amusement Park. Those were stamped with the name of the resort though, while tool tags were generally just a disc with a number.

I'm sure there are other types as well and am interested to read what others have.

Rich -

 

[Dale(Ia)]

Rich, in the area where Jeff found these tags there weren't any business's large enough to give out tool checks, just farming & coal mines. Lot's of coal mines! (No close big towns) That's where most of these tags we find locally come from. They were used to account for the amount of coal you dug. Although I suppose the coal companies could have used tags for tool accountability also...........? They primarily used them to make sure you were in or out of the mine!
Those are some good digs, Jeff!

Iowa Dale

 

[laplander]

VERY nice digs, Laplander!

I am curious about those things you are calling "miner's tags..."

I have dug a few things somewhat similar to those, in Pennsylvania -- VERY much the same number "font" stamped onto them, but mine were round, not square. I have always wondered what they were...hmm...

I have also dug some of those things you are calling "pipe organ reeds," but again -- never knew what they were!

THANKS, Jeff!

Steve

I visited with a older gentleman in town and he still had his fathers complete set. They where still on the original holder a giant safety pin about 3 or 4 inches long which the miner fastened to his coat. When the miner filled a cart with coal that he had hand picked loose then scooped full he attached one these "tags" with his personal number. When the cart made its way top side his tag was placed on a tally board determining his pay. In other words no loads no pay. These early immigrant miners {Italians} worked In horrid conditions hundreds of feet bellow ground in coal seams as small as18 inches thick, many died in their 30's and 40's from consumption {poor air Quality}.

This town had 2 large mines so I am guessing each mine had a different shape Steve.

Every time I find one of these I think of the miners and their hardships, I guess we have it pretty good now.

Jeff

 

[sgoss66]

That is a great story, Jeff. THANKS for sharing that. Wow.

The area I grew up in, southwestern PA very close to the West Virginia Panhandle, is a HUGE coal-mining area, of course. I just wonder now, if those "tokens" I found, were for the exact same purpose.

I'm going to have to see if I can find/dig them out of my "finds bucket," and post them here.

VERY, very fascinating.

Steve

 

[NCtoad]

That is a great story, Jeff. THANKS for sharing that. Wow.

The area I grew up in, southwestern PA very close to the West Virginia Panhandle, is a HUGE coal-mining area, of course. I just wonder now, if those "tokens" I found, were for the exact same purpose.

I'm going to have to see if I can find/dig them out of my "finds bucket," and post them here.

VERY, very fascinating.

Steve

I also grew up in SWPA not too far from Morgantown, WV. All of my uncles were coal miners. My one uncle who's long since passed worked in the mines back when they used mules to pull the coal cars. I remember him saying how they got paid by the "buggy" ...the more buggies they filled the more money they made. He said in the particular mine he worked in, he and his brother held records for the most buggies filled in one shift.

 

[sgoss66]

NCToad,

Then we grew up pretty doggone close together! Beaver County for me, right about the middle of the county! There are exposed coal seams in the creek valley on our farm...

Steve

 

[laplander]

NCToad,

Then we grew up pretty doggone close together! Beaver County for me, right about the middle of the county! There are exposed coal seams in the creek valley on our farm...

Steve

Its really a small world out there
Jeff

 

[sgoss66]

Jeff --

Indeed! (Sorry about the threadjack!)

Steve