Coal shovel

A coal shovel is a tool for moving coal. It has a blade and a handle and differs from the coal scuttle used to contain the fuel. Shovels associated with heating come in different sizes, and an individual tool's exact use cannot always be established from its name alone.

Museum collections document different contexts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes a hearth shovel with a large, slightly concave iron blade used for moving coals and collecting ashes. The Science Museum Group records a metal-and-wood shovel used in coal mining. These are different applications, not evidence that all such shovels were mining tools or shared the same form.

For an older example, record blade width and shape, handle material, attachment, wear and any marks. A replaced wooden handle may affect originality. Soot or rust alone establishes neither age, maker nor Norwegian origin. Keep documented working history separate from an assumed function.

The Met: hearth shovel 10.125.598i
Science Museum Group: coal-mining shovel Y2002.19.562
Future Museum: miner's shovel