Lot# 9087

airmail cover sent on 13 April 1955 from Shenyang to Copenhagen, Denmark, franked with a total of 7,000 yuan in Old RMB Currency stamps x 5, tied by “Shenyang 55.4.13” cds, with “Canton 55.4.19” transit and Danish arrival markings. The postage paid corresponded to the inclusive rate for the route via Prague (2,000 yuan international surface rate plus 5,000 yuan air surcharge), but the letter was instead dispatched by the more expensive Hong Kong route, for which the correct rate was 10,200 yuan (2,200 + 8,000 yuan). As a result, the cover was short-paid by 3,200 yuan and treated as underfranked upon arrival, bearing a circular “T” postage due marking and a Danish “15 øre” due handstamp. This cover was mailed during the 8th Postal Tariff Period (1 January 1955 - 31 August 1956), when the nationwide international airmail rate to Western Europe via Hong Kong was set at 8,000 yuan per 10g, in addition to the 2,200 yuan international surface rate. The postage discrepancy arose because the sender calculated based on the cheaper rate via the Soviet/Prague route, unaware that mail from Manchuria was then often routed through Canton and Hong Kong. Such covers showing underpayment due to routing changes are rare and of great postal historical significance, illustrating both the transitional complexities of PRC international airmail operations and the cost differentials between the two routes to Europe.