Lot# 9096

franked with two stamps comprising a 4 fen Dr. SYS basic stamp and a Shanghai Dah Tung 3rd print Dr. SYS $2,000,000 overprinted “2 fen” basic stamp, the latter diagonally bisected and used as 1 fen, making up the correct 5 fen postage, tied by Kintsing cds and arriving Foochow on Aug 9, 1949. The 5 fen rate conforms to the domestic letter rate effective from Aug 1, 1949 (revised from 4 fen). The key feature of this cover lies in the bisected 2 fen overprint used as 1 fen, reflecting a provisional local measure adopted due to a shortage of 1 fen stamps. Such bisected usages were strictly limited in time and confined to small local post offices, and genuinely used covers are exceedingly rare. Illustrated in Patrick Choy, China Silver Yuan Stamps (3rd Edition), page 168, Figure 4-23, providing authoritative literature reference. It represents an important item for the study of post-war postal rate adjustment, stamp shortages, and provisional bisected usages in Fukien.