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China's old ration coupons have a new value

By Hu Yang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-29 17:27

Food ration coupons, which were a product of China's planned economy decades ago, today have resurfaced in the midst of the country's booming market economy as popular collectors' items.

The coupons, known as liangpiao in Chinese, were issued by the government in the 1950s when food and other commodities were scarce. They were abolished in the 1990s, following the growth of industrial and agricultural production sectors. Today, they have become hot items on auction markets and are highly sought after by collectors and investors.

The government introduced a ration system in 1955, and coupons were issued for foodstuffs, fuel, and even bicycles and televisions. Without them, Chinese residents were not permitted to purchase the goods.

Zhang Wei, a ration coupons collector in his 40s, recalled that in the 1970s the average monthly ration was 15 kilograms for a man and 13 kilograms for a woman. Meat was much scarcer, and it was rationed at 0.25 kilogram per person per month.

"Even if you had tons of money, you still ate a mostly vegetarian diet because most food items, except vegetables, required coupons," Zhang recollected. "In the countryside, meat was available only on rare occasions such as the Chinese New Year, when households would slaughter a pig they had raised and feast for a week."

With the reform and opening-up, food and commodity supplies quickly caught up and even surpassed demand. Ration coupons gradually bowed out. Circulation of food ration coupons, the most important form of ration coupons, stopped in 1993.

But those food ration coupons recently made a comeback for collectors. Many people want to keep them as memories of the old days. They go to outdoor markets or turn to the Internet to buy, sell or exchange these coupons.

There are so many collectors beyond China that if you search for the words "liangpiao" or "food ration coupons" on the Internet, several auction items will appear on listed on eBay, the English language auction website.

Prices for coupons for common items are affordable, ranging from several yuan to hundreds of yuan. But for some rare pieces, the prices can go reach as much as hundreds of thousands of yuan on the auction market.

Experts believe food ration coupons have a very good appreciation value since they represent a historic period and because the existing number is limited.