Posted 05/24/2011 2:27 pm
They are two Chinese food ration coupons issued by Shanxi province (the one with Taiyuan, not Xi'an) for 1 kilo and 2 kilos. These were issued starting in the 60s all the way to the 90s (when I was born, so not that long ago!) for some small cities. These city issued ones are quite plentiful, because unlike national ones which were usually issued to those going on official journeys, these could not be used outside of the city.
My dad told me during the usage period, one bowl of noodles cost 2 cents and an amount of ration coupons, so they were used like a psuedo currency, even though transfer was prohibited. During the 70s when rationing was at the most extreme, there were also "hard" and "soft" grain coupons for corn and wheat flour. The later issue ones, like yours, combined the two categories into just general grains.
My dad told me during the usage period, one bowl of noodles cost 2 cents and an amount of ration coupons, so they were used like a psuedo currency, even though transfer was prohibited. During the 70s when rationing was at the most extreme, there were also "hard" and "soft" grain coupons for corn and wheat flour. The later issue ones, like yours, combined the two categories into just general grains.
