Did Coal Miners 'Owe Their Souls to the Company Store ...
If a coal miner survived a month of work in the mines, he was paid not in U.S. currency but in metals and paper (called coal scrip), which was printed by the coal company. Because only the company that printed the coal scrip honored it, or would redeem it, the coal miner had to purchase all his goods-his food, clothing, and tools-from the