1 Kilogram - Refined Flour Food Stamp Sìpíng City, Jilin

Chinese municipal food stamps (liangpiao) were instruments of the planned economy's rationing system, which remained operative in many cities long after rural decollectivization had already dismantled the communes. Siping, an industrial rail junction in central Jilin, maintained grain bureau control over flour distribution well into the late 1980s — national urban rationing wasn't formally abolished until 1993. This one-kilogram refined flour coupon sits near the tail end of that system, issued six years before it collapsed.

Refined flour coupons were a distinct category from general grain tickets, reflecting the tiered hierarchy of staple goods in which processed flour carried higher status than coarse grain allocations. Municipal-level issues like this one were non-transferable across jurisdictions — a Siping coupon was worthless in Changchun.