Lot# 9040

Posted on 6 December 1952 from Puning, Kwangtung to Bukit Mertajam, Malaya, this 16g registered airmail cover was franked with thirteen R series issues, totaling 19,700 yuan. The correct rate under the 6th Postal Tariff Period (1 November 1950 - 30 April 1953) should have been 15,100 yuan, comprising 2,500 yuan for the first 20g of surface postage, 8,400 yuan for the Asian airmail surcharge (4,200 yuan × 2), and 4,200 yuan for registration, thus overpaid by 4,600 yuan due to use of outdated rate calculations from the previous tariff period. The cover bears “Puning 1952.12.6” cds and a “16g” pencil marking by the postal clerk. The addressee’s town name “Bukit Mertajam” was later added in red by the post office, likely after considerable effort to identify the correct destination. The cover was routed via Canton on 14 December and forwarded through Hong Kong by air, finally delivered on 12 January 1953.
Posted from a postal kiosk at a long-distance bus station, this cover exemplifies occasional postal accounting errors made by small rural post offices during the early PRC postal reform era. A highly instructive and scarce postal history example of overfranking due to misapplied rates during the 6th Postal Tariff Period.