Lot# 9073

the cover is franked with two Northeast China Liberated Area stamps, totaling 200,000 yuan, showing a slight overpayment of 4,000 yuan on the correct rate of 196,000 yuan. The postal composition at that time was: international surface letter up to 20 grams 29,000 yuan, airmail surcharge to “Other Countries” 119,000 yuan per 10 grams, and registration fee 48,000 yuan, totaling 196,000 yuan. Posted from Harbin on Aug 2, the letter transited through Tientsin (Aug 6) and Canton (Aug 11), then via Hong Kong (unmarked) before being carried by Pan American Airways (PAA) to San Francisco, arriving on Aug 17 and delivered the following day. The cover bears registration label “Harbin No. 859” and Canton transit and U.S. arrivals on reverse. This cover represents a rare and significant example of early PRC international registered airmail sent from Northeast China using the “Liberated Area Currency.” During this transitional period, China’s international mail still relied on Hong Kong as the principal exchange point, with trans-Pacific conveyance handled by foreign carriers such as Pan American Airways. It vividly illustrates how the newly established postal administration maintained overseas communication before formal postal treaties were in place. The cover is fully paid, correctly routed, and well preserved, an exceptional postal history artifact of early PRC airmail development and a valuable reference for the study of the postal reforms and currency transition in the Northeast region.