Champion Coated Paper Co.

18mm, Ni plated brass

About this token:

• Bill writes: I worked for Champion International the successor of Champion Coated Paper Company from June 1967 until February 2001 when the Hamilton Mill was sold to a private investment group. When I got there the Company Store that used the Tokens as "Script" was long gone but many people who had started work at the Hamilton Mill in the 1920's and 1930's were still there, so I heard many stories about the Company Store, Company Housing, and early days of making Coated Paper. Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the historical documents that I collected over the years at Champion.
• Carol writes: Champion Paper Company was founded by my great grandfather Peter G. Thomson, who originally ran a greeting card store in Cincinnati, Ohio. Much history has been written by the company itself and I think they could probably give you more information on the scrip. The crusading knight was for many, many years the logo of the company. He built the coated paper plant in Hamilton in 1894. The famous Pulitzer winner book "The ladies of the Club" tells much about life in Hamilton at that time, though thinly disguised as fiction. Reuben Robertson Jr., a cousin to my father, Lewis Clark Thomson, was the last family link in the company. After his death, Karl Bendetsen became presient and CEO in 1960. I do not know who heads the company now. Several decades ago, the company merged with US Plywood and changed its name to US Plywood-Champion and presently I think to Champion International Corp. I am not sure about the later information as I no longer own stock in the company and have sadly gotten out of touch. I believe they still have offices in Stamford, Conn. and mills in Canton, NC ( a notorious polluter of the Pigeon River and source of lawsuits with the state of Tennessee) and timber holdings in Canada and Texas.
• Mike writes: Listed in Trantow's Lumber Company token book, rarity 3. Considered "picture" scrip. Ohio, A series (Hamilton, O) NP (nickel plated). The reverse is referred to as O1 or Orco (Osborne Reg. CO). This is the first Orco rev. The O2 reads Registered US Pat. Off. the O3 reads Patented, the O4 reads 194_ to 195_. The different reverses are specific date related. If you want the dates each was used I can look it up. The Lee-Rodgers token has a punch out. It is said to have used for making identification easier at the register. The listing says they operated coated papermill until 1938. Then changed name to Champion Paper & Fibre Company.
• Trade check. "Osborne Register Co" supplied tokens and a special cash register to Champion Paper in Hamilton, OH
• The Osborn Cash Register Co. was started in 1896 and bought by National Cash Register of Dayton, OH in 1900. The first Osborn registers were built in Detriot by Ireland-Mathews Manufacturing Co. Osborn registers were sold nationally through jobbers. Between 1897 and 1900 they sold an estimated 25,000 units.
• This token is very similar to coal mining scrip. Many such tokens carry this stock ORCO reverse. The other side often gives the actual user. Coal scrip was used as change by the "company store", which sold extensively on credit.Hence, the song "I owe my soul to the company store". In the case of this token, it would appear that a paper mill also had a company store.
• According to "Tokens and Medals" the reference book by Alpert and Elman, about 14,000 "coal scrip" tokens have been cataloged. The most extensive use was from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. ORCO was one of the main manufacturers of these tokens.

Know anything about this token? Please send me a note: pineconeforge(at)gmail.com

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