1$ Coupon for Life - The Absurdities of the PRL

Not every heroine of the communist era needed a cape. A red beret, a confident gaze, and a bundle of ration coupons held as proudly as if she had just won the grand prize were enough. There was just one problem — the prize wasn’t always available in the shop.

The “Coupon for Life” coin from the “Absurdities of the PRL” series takes us back to a time when simply having money was only the beginning of the shopping adventure. You also needed a ration coupon. The right box. The correct month. A shop that had received a delivery. And a little bit of luck. Preferably a very large amount of it.

Our heroine stands in front of a grocery store with the expression of a woman prepared for anything. In her hand is the full arsenal: sugar, flour, chocolate, cigarettes… paperwork in full swing. Behind her, the scales are waiting for goods, the shelves are waiting for goods, the customer is waiting for goods. Only the goods themselves apparently weren’t informed that they were supposed to show up too.

Towering above it all is a modest yet remarkably informative message: “NO GOODS AVAILABLE.” Two words that could bring hours of preparation to an abrupt end faster than a shop assistant pulling down the shutters five minutes before closing time.

Because shopping in the PRL had a logic of its own. You could have money but no ration coupons. You could have coupons but no money. You could have both, but then there were no goods. And if, by some miracle, you had money, coupons, and goods all at the same time — you took whatever they were willing to give you and asked no unnecessary questions.

Yet the heroine of this coin refuses to lose her composure. The coupons are there. The beret is there. The shopping bag is presumably standing by. Now only one crucial question of the era remains: “So, what did they get today?” Because you didn’t go to the shop looking for a specific item. You went to see what fate had in store.

“Coupon for Life” — a memento of a time when a payment card was science fiction, a ration coupon was a treasure, and the words “NO GOODS AVAILABLE” were among the best-stocked features of every shop.