Glass House Script aka Shin Plaster


Examples of some of the Glass House Script used as payment to 19th century SJ glass factory workers

The name shin plaster derived from “chein piastre,” which means dog money or dog-eared money. This money was paid to the workers as their wages and was accepted only at the company-owned general store. They would also use this money to barter with others in the town for services such as the blacksmith or carpenter. This would have limited the worker’s options as to where they could spend their money and in essence kept them trapped by the company. Workers could sometimes sell company currency for real cash, but it was usually quite discounted.