Lot# 9001

bearing a single 4 fen orange Unit stamp, tied by Swatow cds “38.5.13” and addressed to Hong Kong, being a first day usage following the Directorate General of Posts (DGP) order of Apr 27,1949 adopting Silver Yuan postage and issuing Unit stamps; the franking correctly pays the 4 fen domestic surface letter rate, which was also applied to Hong Kong between Apr 29 and Jul 31,1949. Only five such first day commercial covers are recorded, making this an extremely rare example demonstrating the rapid transition from the collapsing Gold Yuan system to the Silver Yuan postal system in South China, and of significant postal history and exhibition importance.