Lot# 9043

bearing two 4 fen and two 10 fen surcharged revenue stamps used as basic postage, all overprinted with the post office name “Hochwan,” tied by Hochwan cds, and with Chungking arrival marking dated 38-6-19. Total franking 28 fen, correctly paying the domestic double registered rate. The overprinted stamps represent an early Silver Yuan period practice in East Szechwan, whereby local post offices applied their own names to stamps prior to sale to restrict inter-district usage amid currency instability and exchange discrepancies, reflecting distinctive regional postal control measures. Although documentary records indicate that Szechwan post office name overprints officially commenced on Jun 21, 1949, this cover demonstrates actual usage in the Chungking postal district as early as Jun 18, 1949, providing important corroborating evidence. One of the earliest recorded covers bearing Szechwan post office name overprints, and a first day of usage example, of exceptional pioneering and historical significance. Illustrated in Patrick Choy, China Silver Yuan Stamps (3rd Edition), page 190, Figure 5-18, representing a key artifact for the study and exhibition of early Silver Yuan postal operations and the inception of the overprint system.