Lot# 9069

this pair of covers illustrates international airmail correspondence from China to Europe during the 8th Postal Tariff Period, showing the standard rates in the final phase of the pre-decimal currency system. Implemented on 1 January 1955, the inclusive rate for a 10g airmail letter to Western Europe via Hong Kong was 102 fen, comprising 22 fen for the first 20g of surface postage and 80 fen for the 10g airmail surcharge. The first cover, posted 15 August 1956 from Canton to Stockholm, is correctly franked at 102 fen and routed via Hong Kong. The second, a registered airmail with advice of receipt sent 6 August 1956 from Shanghai to Geneva, is an exceptionally scarce example franked 156 fen (22 fen letter postage + 80 fen airmail + 32 fen registration + 24 fen advice of receipt). Both demonstrate the precision of postal accounting and the structured use of Hong Kong as the primary international dispatch point, making them important and representative postal artifacts of the 8th Postal Tariff Period.