A final bit of the Stafford haul, which I nearly forgot as they have been rattling around in the bottom of my bag, are these railway paychecks.
According to Wikipedia, these would be issued on Thursday, and then swopped the next day for money and a payslip. Some numbers would be issued to an employee when they started work, and kept for life.
These cost me a quid each from the North Staffordshire Railway Co.
While I know they aren't rare, each one is much older than I am, and a fascinating piece of social history. This little bit of copper (I think) meant everything to the person it belonged to. Who was that person? Whose hands have each one of these passed through?
2 comments:
Whilst they may not be particularly rare, they are most definitely cool and something I had never heard of before. I think I'd like having a G.E.R one in my collection, assuming they issued them
I think all the railway companies issued them, so keep looking! Good luck
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