Pit checks or Pit Tallies.
What are they - and why collect them? .................. and all sorts of other things about them!
For the last decade, I've been interested in all aspects of the coal mining industry (or what's left of it!) here in the UK.
A couple of years ago I started to collect pit checks after spotting a couple on a local collectors fair stall. So what do they look like, and what are they, and why on earth would anyone want to actually collect them?
Well, now you know what they
look like ............. or at least, what some of the more common varieties
look like.
What are they?
In 1935 there were around 1,600 coal mines in the UK. Now there are very few so there is now no ready supply of checks. When a miner went to work at a pit, he was issued with a lamp check or a pay check - such is illustrated above. The number on the check or tally was personal to each miner and prior to going down the pit the miner would exchange his tally for his numbered lamp from the lamp room. When the lamp was returned at the end of the shift, the tally would be returned to the miner.
In the mid 1900's, legislation introduced additional safety measures incorporating the tally's. Prior to going down the pit, the miner would give one of his tally's to the "banksman" at the pit head - and would retain another one with him for the duration of the shift. When returning to the surface, the miner would give his personal tally to the banksman who would in turn pass it on to the time office or the lamp room. Some mines had different systems. Using this system, it was possible for the mine management to keep track on who was where in the complex and for what periods.
Tally's were produced in a great variety of shapes, sizes and designs. Although usually made of brass or zinc they can also be found in steel or aluminum - and recently magnetic strip "swipe cards" have been used.
Why collect them?
Why collect anything! If you're not a "collector" type of person, none of this will make any sense to you!
Pit checks or tally's are a part of our countries industrial history and heritage. Each check represents one man's endeavour down the pits of the UK and when you hold one in your hand, it's not just a meaningless piece of metal, but is a physical manifestation of a way of life which is fast vanishing. The tally is a real piece of history, and as different tallies were manufactured for each pit, there is a vast amount of material that can be collected.
Getting hold of them is a different matter. Most hardened collectors have been saving pit checks for many years. When they started the collections, the checks were often acquired for nothing, given to them by ex-miners, collected from closing collieries etc. They often knew each other, and exchanged checks between themselves with no money being exchanged and so built up large collections.
Things have now changed! For a newcomer to the hobby .............. unless you know a friendly local miner ............ your chances of obtaining a check for nothing is fairly remote. You will have to pay for them. You can expect to pay from £2 upwards for any check.
How are they priced?
Simple! The price is dependent on their rarity and quality - and, very importantly, how much the seller thinks he might be able to ask for them! The checks are produced by different methods. Generally they are made of brass (they look pretty good if in a clean, clear condition and housed in an attractive album or other setting). Those made in brass, are either "stamped" with all the relevant details (the mine's name and the miners number) or come as an "embossed" basic check with the miners number later stamped on it. The basic "stamped" checks are the cheapest, and start at £2 or £3 each although even recently I managed to purchase a hundred for £1 each!. For an embossed check, prices start at around £4 each, average at around £5 with some of the slightly rarer ones priced at about £7 or £8 each. Occasionally, even not so rare "standard" NCB embossed checks are sold for £10 to £15 merely because a collector "must have" that particular check!
Over a period of time, a mine might change the shape or style of it's checks.
Checks from privately owned mines prior to the advent of the NCB can be pricey - expect to pay upwards of £10 per item and often a great deal more, I have seen a number of Welsh ones for around £40!. A really rare one could cost you an arm and a leg ............. that is even if you could persuade someone to sell you it. I've heard of one collector offering up to £90 for one particular item. In February 2004, an Internet eBay auction of 19 old Lancashire pit checks realised the sum of £1,019.
So
what makes a pit check particularly valuable ...... simple, RARITY ..... how
many were produced, how many are now available, how easy is it to get hold of
the check you particularly "must have". The check shown on the left
is the most valuable check of the one's I have in my possession. It comes
from "Wet Earth
Colliery" at Clifton, near Manchester, the pit closing in the 1920's.
The pit was owned by the Clifton & Kersley Coal Company. So far as I can
ascertain, only 4 of these checks have ever come to light and all were found
in the drainage tunnels of that mine. So how much is it worth ...... I've no
idea ..... I'll never sell it..... and I know the people with the other 3, won't
sell theirs either! So what's it's theoretical value ..... I've no idea! And
THAT folks, is one of the attractions of collecting pit checks .... you
never know what you might be able to pick up either free or for a couple of
pounds at any time .... I'm willing to bet that a C & K C Co check is lurking
somewhere in a junk shop, coin dealers or similar with noone either knowing
what it is, nor how rare it is.
At present, different mining areas seem to produce differing prices. Welsh and Scottish checks are dearer than English ones (the Welsh ones seem to average around £6 to £13 each or £20+ for even the commonest "polo style" one. Western and North Western mining areas are slightly dearer than those in Yorkshire/Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire. Frankly, the price depends just like everything else, on how much people are prepared to pay for something they want. I've just paid an extortionate price for a North Western check just because I wanted that particular item - it wasn't really "worth" that much but I wanted it and hadn't been able to get hold of one anywhere else!
Some shapes and styles are rarer than others so prices can vary even for different styles of check for the same pit. Different metals used in the manufacture of the checks can vary the price - alloy ones are usually always considerably cheaper than brass ones. An alloy one will probably be less than £3 and if you buy a few brass ones off a collector, alloys are often thrown in for nothing
Fraudulent or newly made checks are beginning to appear occasionally............... usually blatantly obvious!
Where can you get them from?
Now this is difficult one! Coal mines are not exactly numerous in one's locality nowadays, so unless you can obtain one from a local ex-miner or from the local "bits and pieces" collector then you're stuck. So where can you buy them? The regular local "bric a brac" sale or antique shop can perhaps provide a few. You can acquire a fair number from the auction sites on the Internet where the "starting prices" seem to begin at £3.50 although most start at £4.99 - you also have to add postage of £1 to £2 for everything you buy. Brass checks are (in general) more expensive than alloy ones and (in general yet again) embossed ones are more expensive than stamped ones.
If you can get in touch with other collectors, you have a ready source of people with whom you can but checks from or exchange your duplicates. However, many collectors are not interested in selling their duplicates ........... they only want to exchange. Many of them remember when all pit checks were free, you were given them or you exchanged with others. They view the current situation as distasteful, a sign of the times we live in .............. but they may sell you a few, just so they have the cash to buy the ones they lack!! We're all now stuck in the same vicious circle!
So how do you get in touch with other collectors. Difficult, especially as you don't exactly come across pit check collectors every day! Nowadays it's been made a little easier for the enthusiast with the advent of the NMMA, the National Mining Memorabilia Association, a group of folk who are interested in collecting various mining bits and pieces - including pit checks. They hold "meetings" about 4 times a year in varios parts of the country ........."meetings" is perhaps the wrong word to use, it's more just a gathering of enthusiasts with common interests. Take a look at their web site if this sounds like your scene.
So where do you go from here if you want to start collecting?
You START!
Best of luck - you'll need it! And of course you need to start saving up right now!
Dave Lane, Sept 2001
Other pit check sites
National Mining Memorabilia Association
