Description
China 1897 (Jan) 2c on 3c deep red, surcharge type 19, "Red Revenue", SG89.
A fine used example cancelled by part Shanghai 'Dollar Chop' in brown.
In 1897, the new Qing Dynasty government took charge of the Post Office. There was an immediate need for a large quantity of stamps, especially those of high value. While waiting for the delivery of new stamps from Japan a Provisional Issue was made using existing stock from the Imperial Customs.
A quantity of 600,000 of the 3c Revenue stamps received from England were surcharged with different values.
The Red Revenue stamps are amongst the most popularly collected areas of Chinese philately.