Rare China Stamps
Chinese postal stamps are fascinating to collect because they represent so well the rich and colorful history of the country itself.
There are also plenty of opportunities to acquire rare China stamps because of its turbulent past, which helped produce many opportunities for rarity.
Adding these rare finds to your collection can be rewarding and lucrative, as Chinese stamp collecting is growing in popularity throughout the philatelic world.
Among the most rare of stamps are also the oldest.
The 'Large Dragon' series was printed in the mid-19th century and were the first stamps used for payment of public mail service.
In 1897 the Imperial Post Office became the first of the modern era government mail services, with the initial production of a stamp series bearing the images of a dragon, carp and flying goose.
Due to changes in governments throughout the 20th century, many definite stamp issues were exposed to a process called overprinting and surcharging.
Both techniques involve printing over an existing stamp in order to recharge it for a new use or alter its value (usually due to hyperinflation factors in the economy).
The overprinting resulted in the creation of rare postage stamps due to their uniqueness.
Perhaps the most famous modern era rare stamp is the 'The Whole Country Is Red" misprint that escaped into the marketplace in 1968.
The image depicted on the Cultural Revolution stamp issue inadvertently left out two Chinese islands, causing the release to be aborted.
The few that were not caught have become notoriously rare Chinese stamps.
Other important rare stamps are ones honoring the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution (erroneously entitled 'The Great Soviet October Revolution'), one of a series called 'Scenic Spots of Beijing' (erroneously entitled 'The Nuclear Glare of Tiananmen') and a stamp honoring Cai Lun in the "Scientist of Ancient China" series (ascribed with an incorrect birthdate).
Rare China stamps are fast becoming one of the fastest growing segments of philately.
The huge growth of stamp collecting in China itself has virtually assured that rare stamps from China will continue increase in valuable over time.
There are also plenty of opportunities to acquire rare China stamps because of its turbulent past, which helped produce many opportunities for rarity.
Adding these rare finds to your collection can be rewarding and lucrative, as Chinese stamp collecting is growing in popularity throughout the philatelic world.
Among the most rare of stamps are also the oldest.
The 'Large Dragon' series was printed in the mid-19th century and were the first stamps used for payment of public mail service.
In 1897 the Imperial Post Office became the first of the modern era government mail services, with the initial production of a stamp series bearing the images of a dragon, carp and flying goose.
Due to changes in governments throughout the 20th century, many definite stamp issues were exposed to a process called overprinting and surcharging.
Both techniques involve printing over an existing stamp in order to recharge it for a new use or alter its value (usually due to hyperinflation factors in the economy).
The overprinting resulted in the creation of rare postage stamps due to their uniqueness.
Perhaps the most famous modern era rare stamp is the 'The Whole Country Is Red" misprint that escaped into the marketplace in 1968.
The image depicted on the Cultural Revolution stamp issue inadvertently left out two Chinese islands, causing the release to be aborted.
The few that were not caught have become notoriously rare Chinese stamps.
Other important rare stamps are ones honoring the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution (erroneously entitled 'The Great Soviet October Revolution'), one of a series called 'Scenic Spots of Beijing' (erroneously entitled 'The Nuclear Glare of Tiananmen') and a stamp honoring Cai Lun in the "Scientist of Ancient China" series (ascribed with an incorrect birthdate).
Rare China stamps are fast becoming one of the fastest growing segments of philately.
The huge growth of stamp collecting in China itself has virtually assured that rare stamps from China will continue increase in valuable over time.
