Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Labor The Curse of Coal
. . . it is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior.
-- George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier
Out of work and out of luck, the coal miners of Logan County, W. Va., come to the Big Eagle Gun and Pawn Shop to offer up the last thing they have of any worth: their simple gold wedding bands. The rings, buffed free of inscriptions, fill a black velvet tray. Dozens more crowd a shelf in the vault. Over the past five years, more than 1,000 miners and their wives have come here to...
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