Lot# 9010

airmail cover sent on 11 February 1950 from Honglok, Kwangtung to New York, franked with a total of 51 stamps comprising North China and East China Liberated Area surcharged issues, amounting to 77,100 yuan (RMB). The cover bears “Honglok 50.2.11” cds and “Canton 50.2.12” transit on reverse. It was routed via Hong Kong, then forwarded to the United States by Pan American Airways (PAA) trans-Pacific service. This cover was posted during the 2nd Postal Tariff Period (10 February to 4 Mar 1950). According to the newly implemented rates, the correct postage for airmail to “Other Countries” (non-Asian destinations) should have been 82,500 yuan, calculated as 6,500 yuan for the 80-gram international surface letter rate plus 9,500 yuan × 8 for the airmail surcharge. However, as Honglok was a second-class post office, it likely had not yet received official notice of the new tariffs and thus continued to charge under the previous 1st-period rate of 77,100 yuan (surface 80g 5,100 + air surcharge 9,000 × 8). This cover represents a transitional-rate usage during the early days of the 2nd Postal Tariff Period, showing that even after the new rates took effect, smaller regional post offices temporarily continued to apply the earlier tariffs. It provides vivid evidence of administrative delay and communication gaps in the early implementation of the unified RMB postal system, making it a rare and classic example of a high-weight airmail cover from the formative phase of the People’s Republic postal reform, with significant postal history and exhibition value.