Lot# 9059

posted on 17 September 1954 from Shanghai to Stockholm, this 420g registered airmail sample cover was franked with seven stamps, totaling 385,700 yuan, including one each of the Tiananmen 5th Print 100,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan stamps, very rarely seen on cover. The postage breakdown was: international sample first 50g 900 yuan, balance 370g at 400 yuan per 50g (3,200 yuan), air surcharge via Hong Kong at 9,000 yuan per 10g × 42 (378,000 yuan), and registration fee 3,600 yuan. The cover was routed via Canton and Hong Kong (though unmarked), then through Geneva on 24 September before final delivery to Stockholm. It bears a handstamp “經由香港轉” (“via Hong Kong”) indicating the sender’s preferred route. If sent instead via the Moscow/Prague route, the postage would have been 234,500 yuan, a saving of 151,200 yuan, showing that the Hong Kong route was about 67% more expensive, yet favored by commercial senders for reliability and timeliness. Mailed by China National Tea Corporation, Shanghai Branch, this exceptionally heavy 420g registered sample cover is a remarkable example of high-rate commercial airmail during the 7th Postal Tariff Period, illustrating both the economic reality and postal routing practices of early PRC international trade correspondence.