Lot# 9003

this airmail cover was posted from Shanghai to Geneva and represents one of the earliest recorded examples of correct rate usage under the unified postal system of PRC, franked with East China Liberated Area stamps x 10, totaling 10,800 yuan, comprising 1,800 yuan for the first 20g of surface postage and an airmail surcharge of 9,000 yuan per 10g. The cover was canceled “Shanghai 50.2.6” cds and with “Canton 50.2.11” transit on reverse. It was routed via Canton and Hong Kong before onward air transmission to Europe. This item was mailed only four months after the founding of the PRC, during the early unification of postal tariffs nationwide. It provides tangible evidence of the establishment of a standardized international airmail rate system. A historically significant and well-preserved example with complete postal markings, of strong research and exhibition value.