Coal Scuttle

This is a coal scuttle.  They're also called coal hods.    I love the shape.   They were used to hold a supply of coal upstairs near the fire so it would be easy to add coal to the fire without going down to the basement [or wherever your coal pile is] to get some every time you needed to feed your fire. 

They're shaped so it's easy to pour the coal into the fire.   They come in a bunch of styles. 

Here's a bit more information from Wiki.

Since we live in coal country, once in a while we see a pile of coal outside a structure all winter.  Yoho's used to have one.   They used something like this scuttle to move coal indoors for the fire every day.   Now that Yoho is getting restored, I'm thinking they won't have the coal pile outside anymore.   And probably not the coal stove inside.   They're supposed to open again in a month or so.  I'll keep you posted.