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½ Shi Jin - Sichuan Province Food Stamp
| Issuer | Sichuan Province Grain Bureau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1973 |
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| Size | 76 x 34 mm |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of a diesel locomotive crossing a viaduct set against a mountainous landscape, rendered in a linear illustrative style typical of Chinese ration coupons of the Cultural Revolution era. A decorative rosette in yellow and purple at the right displays the face value. The issuer name and denomination appear in Chinese characters above and below the central vignette, with the year of issue at the base. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a uniform blue-violet ink on plain paper, framed by a guilloche border of interlocking geometric and wheat-sheaf motifs at the top and a repeating key-fret band at the bottom. The face value '0.5' appears in large numerals at the left and right margins. The central field bears the heading 使用说明 (Usage Instructions) followed by four numbered clauses in Chinese, with a circular red administrative validation stamp overlaid across the text. |
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| Comments |
Chinese provincial food stamps (粮票) were not currency but state-rationed entitlements, issued under the planned economy to control grain distribution. Sichuan's Bureau administered one of the most populous provinces in the country, and its grain ration system ran continuously from the late 1950s through to the early 1990s, when market reforms finally made the coupons redundant. The 1973 date places this squarely in the later Cultural Revolution period, when commodity rationing remained a central tool of economic control.
Half a shi jin — roughly 25 grams of grain equivalent — is an unusually small denomination, suggesting fine-grained rationing of supplemental allocations rather than staple household rations. These fractional coupons were typically issued to adjust for rounding in monthly household calculations.