Series: Indebtedness, 21st Century Peonage

This 25¢ token, dated 1939, is a piece of New River Co. "coal scrip", issued at the Price Hill Mine, near Beckley, West Virginia. Scrip was a component of a system of peonage employed by coal mining companies and used to control miners by creating indebtedness. Coal miners were paid in coal scrip from the late 19th century to as late as the early 1960s. This photo is of a piece in my personal collection. Ironically, most of my pieces are now worth more as collectibles than their face values, though when paid to coal miners they were worth their face value only at the Company Store. Ever hear the classic country tune "16 Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford?

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I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Scrip is a thing of the past now. Think Peonage is?

Ever feel like a Peon? Ever hear a co-worker say "I'm just a Peon around here!". Just what is Peonage? From WikiPedia:

The words peon and peonage are derived from the Spanish peón (pe'on). It has a range of meanings but its primary usage is to describe labourers with little control over their employment conditions.

Peonage in one form or another has been around for thousands of years. It's still around in more forms than many folks might think. Are there contemporary equivalents of coal scrip? Is indebtedness still used to exert control?

This is the first in a series of posts on Peonage. Others to follow:

• West Virginia Coal Mining - Peonage in My Family Tree
• Predatory Credit Card Companies & Personal Peonage
• Peonage, Collective Bargaining & Current Union Busting
• Anti-Trust Law Enforcement & Peonage

Pay day, coal mining town, Omar, West Virginia, September 1938.