Lot# 9075

during this period, the postal rates were slightly reduced compared to the previous one, the international surface letter rate for the first 20g was 25,000 yuan, the airmail surcharge to “Other Countries” per 10g was 105,000 yuan, and the international registration fee was 42,000 yuan, for a total of 172,000 yuan. The cover is franked with four Northeast China Liberated Area stamps, totaling the correct rate of 172,000 yuan, tied by “Harbin 50.10.12” cds, bearing a “Harbin No. 1281” registration label. It was routed via Tientsin on Oct 16 and Canton on Oct 20, then forwarded through Hong Kong (unmarked), and likely carried by Qantas Empire Airways to Brisbane, arriving on Oct 26. This registered airmail cover sent to the Southern Hemisphere is a rare example of correct-rate usage under the Northeast postal currency system in the early People’s Republic of China. The postage is fully paid and precisely calculated, clearly reflecting the postal reality of the early 1950s when China’s international airmail services still relied on Hong Kong as the main transit hub and foreign airlines for long-haul carriage. Well preserved and clearly routed, this cover is an exceptional artifact of the PRC’s transitional postal and currency system and a scarce example of early China–Australia correspondence, holding significant value for postal history research and exhibition. This cover was cut off at left, and repaired to complete.