Lot# 9018

the first, posted 4 March 1950 from Shanghai to Baltimore, is correctly franked with 11,800 yuan, the inclusive rate for a 10g airmail letter to “Other Countries” (2,800 yuan surface postage plus 9,000 yuan airmail surcharge). Franked with a mixture of North China, East China, and PRC People’s Post stamps, the cover was mailed on the last day of the period, canceled “Shanghai 50.3.4” cds, and likely routed via Canton and Hong Kong for transpacific carriage by Pan American Airways. A fine and scarce last-day usage at the correct rate. The second, posted 19 February 1950 from Shanghai to Singapore, was overpaid at 11,800 yuan, having been franked at the “Other Countries” rate instead of the correct 8,000 yuan for Asian destinations (2,800 yuan surface + 5,700 yuan airmail). Bearing a “Shanghai 50.2.19” cds, the cover demonstrates a common early misapplication by senders still accustomed to the previous uniform rates. Together, these covers provide valuable postal history evidence of the early adaptation to the new airmail tariff distinctions within the PRC’s developing international postal system, illustrating both correct and erroneous applications of the dual-rate system that distinguished “Asia” from “Other Countries.”