12/12/2024
Lump of Coal
Rare Old Company’s
Lehigh Anthracite Scatter Tag
Circa. 1930’S-1940’s
Handmade preserved coal/tag Interchangeable ornament or bookmark and CW (Coal Worker) Brass Check Tag ornament
A common advertising strategy of the
U.S. coal industry, these cardboard
“scatter tags” were literally scattered into loads of coal, serving as a creative form of business card. As most ended up in the incinerator with the coal, they are now quite rare.
The “Old Company’s Lehigh” label refers to the historical Lehigh Coal Mining Co. arm of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. (LC&N): the first anthracite mining company in America.
Formed in 1822, the pioneering efforts and innovations of the LC&N kickstarted both the Transportation and Industrial Revolutions, fueled the rise of
anthracite coal, and included the building of the Lehigh Canal.
The anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania stretches over 480 square miles and is responsible for 95% of the Western Hemisphere’s anthracite coal production.
First discovered in 1791 in Summit Hill, PA, these rich and rare deposits were formed over 300 million years ago with a violent shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates.
The intensified pressure accelerated the formation of coal, resulting in the oldest and purest carbonated fossil fuel in the world. Composed almost entirely of fixed carbon, anthracite is more concentrated and energy dense than soft coal, producing a higher heat, burning cleaner and longer.
Despite initial challenges, anthracite coal eventually became the preferred source of fuel, heat and light during the American Industrial Revolution, helping to power the nation to unparalleled levels of success & prominence for over 180 years.
&lehighnationalheritagecorridors
