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½ Shi Jin - Grain Food Stamp Zhongjian County, Guizhou
| Issuer | Zhongjian County Grain Bureau, Guizhou |
|---|---|
| Year | 1983 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Green-toned paper with a letterpress-printed border of stylized wheat ears enclosing the central field. A grey-scale vignette of a farming scene occupies the left portion, with dark green Chinese characters stating the county name and denomination at centre, and the year 1983 below. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Official stamp |
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| Comments |
Chinese grain rationing coupons (粮票, liángpiào) were administrative instruments, not currency, though they functioned as a parallel exchange medium throughout the planned economy period. Zhongjian County in Guizhou — a mountainous, historically food-insecure region — issued its own local stamps redeemable only within county boundaries, meaning they had zero value the moment you crossed into a neighboring administrative zone. That hyper-local restriction is exactly what makes county-level issues scarce: low print runs, narrow circulation, and no incentive for anyone outside the county to preserve them.
The official stamp serves as the sole security feature — a deliberately low-cost solution for a ration system that was already being phased out nationally within a decade.