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10 Shi Jin - Coarse Grains Food Stamp Xichang City, Sichuan
| Issuer | Xichang City Food Bureau, Sichuan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 84 x 40 mm |
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| Obverse description | Brown intaglio vignette at left centre depicting a multi-storey government or civic building set amid foliage. Numeral '10' appears in blue at both lateral margins flanking the central design, with a decorative wave-pattern guilloche border band running along the lower edge. Light blue underprint scrollwork fills the corners. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain buff paper with a decorative blue loop-pattern border frame enclosing three numbered clauses of usage instructions in Chinese. A circular red official seal with a five-pointed star is applied at centre, partially overlapping the text. |
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| Comments |
Chinese local food stamps (粮票) were a product of the planned economy's rationing apparatus, which persisted in various forms from 1955 until the system was formally abolished nationally in 1993. Municipal and county-level bureaus issued their own stamps alongside provincial and national series, creating thousands of distinct local types — Xichang's being among the less commonly encountered Sichuan issues. The coarse grains designation (粗粮) is the telling detail here: it distinguished rations of corn, sorghum, and millet from the more desirable fine grain allocations, reflecting a rationing hierarchy most urban residents actively tried to avoid drawing against.
Xichang issues from this period rarely survived in quantity. Food stamps were consumable documents — used, torn, and discarded — and few holders had reason to preserve them.