1868 Stock Certificate - Platt Coal Company in Chicago, Illinois For Sale

Authentic serial-numbered xxxx stock certificate issued by the Platt Coal Company with aqua-green embossed seal stating company name and location (Kewanee Illinois) in lower left corner. (Kewanee is more west and south of Rockfort.) Also features an xxxx hand-stamped reddish-brown Revenue Stamp depicting George Washington and measuring 7/8 X 2 inches. Hand-signed by both the secretary and Company president at bottom. Document measures 8 X 9 13/16 inches. Printed by Western Engraving Co. of Chicago.
Document contains three separate graphics: 1) Directly above the embossed seal, the left side graphic depicts a miner in the foreground shoveling coal into a coal car on rail tracks while five of his co-workers labor using pick-axes and sledgehammers in the background inside an underground coal mine. 2) Graphic at top-center depicts a train pulling coal cars about to enter a tunnel cut into a mountain. In the foreground three men with shovels dig and displace their dirt into a nearby large horse-drawn receptacle. The background contains a six-building multi-level industrial complex with six wooden buildings of different shapes and sizes. 3) Third graphic appears at bottom-center and is a smaller graphic containing a wheel barrel brimming with coal. Two wooden kegs lay on the ground in front of the wheel barrel, while a pick-ax and shovel lean against the wheel barrel. Buildings appear in the distance.
The Illinois coal mining boom began during the American Civil War and prospered quickly as boom towns like Braidwood, Coal City, and Carbon Hill sprang up. Miners' working conditions were extremely difficult and dangerous as they worked in small tunnels where they couldn't stand up while they stooped to pick and shovel coal, then load it onto carts and push the carts to where mules took over. The miners worked ten hours each day, doing dirty work which frequently led them to develop Black Lung disease or suffer crippling accidents caused by rockfalls,
Suitable for framing. Very Good condition. Document still has most of original crispness. No writings on document. No rips or tears.