250 Grams - Food Stamp Xinzhou County, Shanxi

Chinese county-level food coupons of this type emerged from the tail end of the national rationing system — a system that had governed grain, cooking oil, and other staples since the mid-1950s. By 1993, most provincial and municipal ration programs had already been abolished following market liberalization, but numerous county governments in interior Shanxi were notably slow to phase out local controls. Xinzhou, a largely agricultural prefecture, retained localized coupon systems longer than many comparable jurisdictions.

Denominated by weight rather than currency, making it functionally a commodity certificate rather than money — though collectors and cataloguers have long treated these interchangeably with notaphilic material.