Token - Ten Sticks Powder Mohrland, Utah

Many examples exist of these “script like” tokens, for both exploders (detonators) and sticks of dynamite.

The description of this item from the American History Museum (Smithsonian) reads, “The United States Fuel Company owned the Mohrland, Utah mine as well as its company store that was run by the Mohrland Mercantile Company. This token is a form of scrip that entitled the owner to 10 sticks of dynamite from the company store, while also allowing the company to control the distribution of explosives. Scrip is a substitute for legal tender often used in coal towns as a substitute for monetary wages or credit against the miner’s next paycheck. Scrip could only be spent in company stores for goods (often sold at a markup) and the use of scrip in lieu of pay was often a source of contention between workers and management. This token was stamped by the Salt Lake Stamp Company sometime between 1915 and 1938.”