Whitney Scrip Currency

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Pictured here is an uncut sheet of company money (scrip currency) from the Whitney Glassworks in Glassboro, NJ. Printed in 1863 in blue ink, this uncut sheet of bills in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents would not have been valid until it was cut and signed by the issuer.

Company money, also known as scrip currency or shin plaster, was common among American glassworks of the early 1800’s. The name shin plaster derived from the French term chein piastre, meaning “dog money” or “dog-eared money.” This was the common term used for this money at the time. Scrip was a popular term for the money used during the Depression in the 1930’s, but today is also used to refer to shin plaster.

Workers were paid their wages in shin plaster, which was only valid at the company store, such as the Whitney Glassworks Store. According to Rick Grenda, member of the Board of Trustees for the Heritage Glass Museum, scrip currency was also used to barter for local services, such as those from the blacksmith or carpenter, which were not available at the company store. Workers could sometimes sell company currency for U.S. currency, but it was usually at a discounted rate because of its highly localized and limited value. Shin plaster currency effectively limited the financial independence and mobility of the company's workforce.

Company currency also took other forms. Tokens or coins, which were less common than paper currency, were also issued by larger companies, including the Whitney Glassworks. Their popularity decreased further by 1863, when, during the Civil War, the metal used to make the tokens had greater value than the face value of the token itself.

Another method by which companies paid their workers was passbooks. These were ledgers kept by the company to track the balance of worker’s wages against purchases made from the company store. This bypassed the need for paper scrip and thus was more common among smaller glassworks.

According to Rick Grenda, by the late 1800s, all forms of company currency were outlawed in New Jersey owing to the continued devaluing and instability of company currency which led to a series of strikes by glassworkers demanding to be paid U.S. currency. In the United States, scrip currency was outlawed in 1938 by the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Wikipedia page)

This actual uncut sheet of 1863 sheet of scrip currency can be viewed at the Heritage Glass Museum which is located at 25 High St E, Glassboro, NJ 08028.

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