Lot# 9079

franked with four Northeast China Liberated Area stamps, totaling 165,000 yuan, tied by “Harbin 50.11.7” cds, and bearing red registration label “Harbin No.1422”. The postage was correctly composed of 25,000 yuan for the first 20g of international surface letter postage, 100,000 yuan airmail surcharge per 10 g to “Other Countries,” and 40,000 yuan registration fee. The cover was routed via Tientsin (Nov 10) and Canton (Nov 14), then forwarded through Hong Kong (unmarked), likely carried by Pan American Airways (PAA) on its FAM 14 trans-Pacific route, arriving in San Francisco on Nov 19 and delivered the next day, with arrival marking on reverse. Posted during the transitional stage of China’s postal and currency adjustment following the founding of the People’s Republic, this period saw the registration fee reduced from 42,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan, a 4.8% decrease, reflecting postal tariff fine-tuning in preparation for the forthcoming renminbi unification. This cover represents a rare early registered airmail from the 3rd postal period to the United States, correctly rated and clearly routed. It demonstrates the ability of the new postal administration to maintain smooth international postal operations even before full currency unification, and stands as an exceptional item of high postal history and exhibition value.