Lot# 9023

franked with one West Szechwan domestic ordinary unit stamp and two registered unit stamps, paying a total of 28 fen, tied by Chengtu cds “38.7.2”. The franking correctly pays the domestic double registered rate of 28 fen in effect from Apr 29 to Jul 31, 1949. West Szechwan Postal District issued unit stamps during the early Silver Yuan period to correspond to different postal functions (ordinary and registration) within the rate structure. This cover represents a first day usage of the issue, and is believed to be the only recorded first day cover. The franking combination clearly demonstrates the practical application of the unit stamp system. With correct postage and the rarity of first day usage, this is a representative and important postal history item of significant exhibition and research value.