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If you have ever heard of Notgeld - notes issued by Germany, Austria and a few other countries during world war 1 as emergency currency - than you will quickly become familair with Ration Coupons.

While the ration coupons presented on this page are from the years between 1954 and 1992, according to Marius Bochniak, Chief editor of 'International Journal of Rationing', "ration coupons were in constant use in China from the 13th century on and they are still used e.g. by the Chinese Army".

What are 'Ration Coupons'?
Ration coupons, also called 'Rice Coupons', were to everyday necessities in China that notgeld were in Germany. In Germany during world war one, there was a severe shortage of coinage and currency in Germany and German occupied areas. Because of this, cities and towns ect around German controlled areas issued their own script as a substitute for official coinage and currency. In China, ration coupons were essentially the same thing, Ration Coupons acted as a replacement for coins and currency when it came to buying a rationed item.

Why were Ration Coupons used?
Between the years of 1954 and 1992, China found itself in the grip of severe shortages in a wide variety of basic necessities. In a bold move meant to prevent a small group of wealthy or well connected individuals from controling what few resources were readily available to the 1.3 BILION people living in China, Ration Coupons were distributed. With ration coupons, only the holder of a coupon could obtain a rationed item, and only in the quantities written on the coupon. Ration coupons helped distribute rationed items to everyone, including the poor. This insured that everyone would have access to rationed items.

How were Ration Coupons used?
Each coupon had a quantity or weight written on it. Each coupon was also good for a single rationed item. A grain coupon valued at a kilogram, when presented to a shop with sufficient supply in stock, would enable the holder of the coupon to 'purchase' the quantity granted to him by the ration coupon. When using a coupon, no money was exchanged, only the coupon.

What types of Ration coupons were used?
Ration coupons were issued for a wide variety of goods. These include, but are not limited to - Different types of food, grain, cooking oil, meats like Pork and Lamb, rice, flour, sugar, pastry, vegetables, cloth, cloth shoes, cotton, coal, soap, detergent, kerosene oil, matches, bicylces, sewing machines, wristwatches, and many more. Not only were ration coupons issed for items, but also issued for different end users. There were ration coupons issued for different festivals, for peasnts, for prisoners, for senior citizens to buy certain items, for women who had just given birth, foreign exchange certificates for family members overseas, for relief of flood victims, and more.

Who issued Ration Coupons?
Ration couons were issued by the local government (provinces) around China.

How many Ration Coupons were made?
Because there didnt appear to be a central authority issuing the coupons, there isnt an exact list of Who made what coupons, or how many. While we can tell from surviving examples some of the provinces that issued Ration Coupons, and in what types, I am unsure if we will ever know the full list of issuing provinces, all the types each produced, or just how many were produced.

How can I (A) buy Ration Coupons, and (B)how much are they worth?
-(A)DaggarJon.com does not offer any items up for sale. However, there are still plenty of other places on the world wide web that sell ration coupons. Places like Ebay usually have an abundant supply of common Ration Coupons. For the serious collector,or someone looking for a wider supply than those found on Ebay, or if you are looking for the less common types of Ration Coupns, take a look at the coupons found here.
-(B)Ration coupons, like banknotes, have several different factors controlling percieved value. First and foremost would be sarcity. Commonly found coupons will be valued much less that those that are hard to find. Beyond scarcity, condition. a well preserved coupon will be valued much more than a well circulated example.

Where can i find additional information on Ration Coupons?
Within China, there is a sizeable collector base of those who collect ration coupons. I do not know how many collectors activley collect ration coupons outside China. Because there is scare information about Ration Coupons on the internet, it could be an indication the collector base of ration coupons is small. The information i presented here is from many, many hours of searhcing. I suspect there is much, much more information avalable on the internet, but possibly not in english. I have found many books available on China's Ration coupons, but all of them are written in Chinese. In an 2009 article published by the Internation Journal of Rationing, Marius Bochniak wrote a piece that outlined many of the available books on Ration Coupons. To view that overview on the International Journal of Rationing website, click here. Another website i found with a nice list of books on ration coupons is found here, but again, all the books are in Chinese, but some of the books have as many as 5000 images.

*The following I obtained from www.paulnoll.com.

Kilogram / Jin / Liang / Pound Conversions

KILOGRAM: JIN: LIANG: POUND:

So, 1 kg is egual to 2 jin which is 20 liang which is 2.2 pounds.

So, 1 jin is 1.1 pounds, 5 jin is 5.5 pounds and so forth.

A sample front side translation:
First Line: The Food Ministry of the People's Republic of China.
Second Line: This Food coupon can be used in all of China.

A sample back side translation:
First Number: This coupon allows you buy food covered in the whole of China.
Second Number: When you buy food, please buy food types as local area demands.
Third Number: The Five Jin means you can buy that much of the rationed foods.
Fourth Number: This coupon cannot be bought or sold. The amount cannot be changed. If lost, coupon will not be replaced.

Because i cannot read Chinese, I do cannot read the ration coupons listed below. I know the values, or weights, are listed in Kilogram, Jin and Liang. These weights can then be converted into Pounds and Ounces. If you know of an english source like a website, book or any other place that gives note details, lists coupon issues or other related information, please use the Contact page and let me know. Thank you.

Jilin Province
Grain Coupon

This ration coupon is dated 1975 and valued at 4 liang, or a little less than 1/2 pound.

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1976 dated ration coupon valued at 1 Liang, or about 1.75 ounces.

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1976 dated ration coupon valued at 2 Liang, or about 3.5 ounces.

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1976 dated ration coupon valued at 1/2 Jin, or about 8.8 ounces.

Heilongjiang Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1978 dated ration coupon valued at 1/2 Jin, or about 8.8 ounces.

Here is a 1980 ration coupon denoted .5.

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date

Here is a 1980 ration coupon denoted 1

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date

Here is a 1980 ration coupon denoted 10

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1981 dated ration coupon valued at 1 Jin, or about 1.1 Pounds.

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1981 dated ration coupon valued at 2 Jin, or about 2.2 Pounds.

Shanxi Province
Grain Coupon

Here is a 1981 dated ration coupon valued at 5 Jin, or about 5.5 Pounds.

Here is a 1983 ration coupon denoted 50

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date

Xinxiang City, Henan Province
Rice Coupon

This is a 1990 dated ration coupon valued at 1 Kilogran, or about 4.5 pounds.

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date

Wuhan City, Hubei Province
Grain Coupon

This ration coupon is dated 1990 and valued at 2 Kilograms, or about 4.5 pounds.

Here is a 1990 ration coupon denoted 2

Special thanks to Frank for helping with the date