In a message dated 1/27/99 6:19:21 AM !!!First Boot!!!, ehoward@conknet.com writes: << Coal is a big part of the history of SW VA. In the "Back Counties" as my father called them. >> When I attended the huge Flea Market in Hillsville several years ago I came across a box of oval brass pieces with a different number on each one. I was told that there were two boards at the entrance of the coal mines. Each miner had his own number and would transfer that from the "out of the mine" board to the "in the mine" board each time he entered. This served to identify those trapped in the mine incase of an accident.