$5 Coal Mine Scrip from Winding Gulf Coals.

Coal mine scrip was a privately issued form of credit or currency that coal companies used to pay their workers instead of standard U.S. cash. How It Worked • Company Stores: Scrip was redeemable only at the company-owned store ("pluck-me store") in isolated mining camps. • Forms: It was issued as paper coupon books, punch cards, or metal tokens made of brass, aluminum, or copper (stamped with the company name and face value). • Wage Advances: Miners could "draw scrip" as an advance against unearned future wages before payday, often losing 20% to 50% of its cash value if traded with outside merchants. The Economic Trap • Debt Bondage: Because the company owned the housing, the tools, the medical care, and the store, high markups on goods meant miners frequently ran up debts that exceeded their actual earnings. • Cultural Impact: This system inspired the famous phrase in the folk song "16 Tons"—"I owe my soul to the company store". Decline and Legacy • Regulation: The scrip system faced heavy labor resistance and was largely curbed by federal legislation like the Fair Labor Standards Act, though local forms persisted in some areas through the 1950s.