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1932

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1937

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Seals & Labels

Special China Mail Stamps (Third Issue)

This set has been redrawn and engraved (with many variations) on watermarked (see below) "granite" paper in sheets of 100 by the Central Bank of Manchukuo Printing Department in Hsinking. Designer unknown. Produced at different times throughout 1936 as old plates wore out and had to be replaced, this is the third printing.

The stamps are 18.5mm x 22mm, Perf 13½ x 13½. 

The set consisted of 4 stamps, a 2f and 8f featuring the Imperial Crest of Manchukuo. The 4f and 12f showing Changbaishan and the Heavenly Lake (Baitoushan).

Postal Agreement with Japan

This is a commemorative issue celebrating the postal agreement with Japan available from 26th January 1936. Prior to this the Postal arrangements between Manchukuo and Japan had to conform to the Cino-Japanese Postal Agreement of 1911.

The stamps were recess printed on watermarked (see below) "granite" paper in sheets of 70 by the Central Bank of Manchukuo Printing Department in Hsinking. Designs by Mr Hirozo Oya. Proofs in the 3f exist in brown, imperf.

 The stamps are 21.5mm x 27.5mm and 27mm x 21.5mm. Perf 12 x 12½ and 12 1/4 x 12.  

The 1½f  and 6f shown Wild Geese flying toward Japan (a symbol of co-operation) and the 3f and 10f depict The Ministry of Communication, Hsinking.

280,000

840,000

140,000

140,000

Zirkle 18 - Issued 26th to 28th January 1936
Town of issue not yet translated.

This is to celebrate the new postal treaty with Japan which came into effect on 26th January 1936. The central image is of a pigeon with a letter in its beak, flanked by the flags of Japan and Manchukuo.

Fourth Regular Issue (First Printing)

This issue, (excluding air mail designs which are similar) provided the basic postage stamps used in Manchukuo from 4th December 1936. The stamps were recess printed on watermarked (see below) "granite" paper in sheets of 100 by the Manchukuo Government Supplies Division, Hsinking. Designs by Mr Hirozo Oya.

The stamps are 18.5mm x 22.5mm. Perf 13 x13½.  Four Designs....

The ½f ,1f, 1½f, 3f and 5f show the State Council Building, Hsinking
The 2f, 6f, 20f and 50f show Farmers Carting Soya Beans
The 4f, 7f, 12f show the Qing Dynasty Peiling Mausoleum at Mukden
The 10f, 30f and 1y show the Summer Palace at Chengteh

Stamps were printed in booklet form for the 1½f and 2f each containing 60 stamps in panes of 6, also 3f and 4f each containing 30 stamps in panes of 6. Stamps from booklet panes have one imperf edge.

These stamps were re-printed in 1940 using a thinner paper and with some minor differences in shading and gum. Numbers printed unknown for either issue.

Suspicion of stolen stamps was raised in October 1938 by a Manchukuo specialist Mr L. R. Marr (in Osaka) when he was offered what he described as "altered" stamps by a Russian dealer. He wrote to  Mr Ryutaro Nagai, Minister of Communications in Tokyo, voicing his concerns. He told Mr Nagai that, as a result of his investigations, he had been informed that a Japanese man in Hsinking, by the name of Yamamoto, had a friend in the Manchukuo Government Printing Office, who was fraudulently altering stamps.

The subsequent investigation showed that an employee at the Government Printing Office in Hsinking had stolen both imperforate and diagonally perforated sheets of stamps for sale to dealers. Four values are known to have been involved ½f, 1f, 2f and 4f. The culprit, and many outside accomplices, were quickly caught and severely punished.

Most of the stamps were recovered, but some ½ fen were put on sale by the Harbin stamp dealer, A. S. Yaroshevitch. He sold them for $10.00 a pair, claiming that they had been bought by a student at a local Post Office. It is clear that he made this offer to most of the Manchukuo collectors on his books. Akagi reports that some sheets found their way to America, but in all probability they were sent to collectors all over the world.

My thanks to Travis Searls for this image.

1½ fen Booklet Pane

2f Booklet Panes - Type A unused and Type C - Used intact (Harbin Postmark). The used pane is a rare item because it shows all three types of guide line. The Horizontal line for stitching plus the vertical and horizontal cropping guides (shown as a cross top and bottom). This item has been cancelled to order, the gum on the reverse side is intact.

4f Booklet Panes types A. and C. Note that the second booklet pane has a thin horizontal line at the top to act a guide for stitching.

1936 Booklet Pane Perforations Type A. B. and C.

The 2f and 4f booklets were reprinted many times and there are three distinct patterns to the perforation at the bottom of the panes. Type A. B. and C. (see below). All booklets 1½f and 3f are identical and conform to pattern A, probably because they are all from the same batch, or batches of panes perforated at around the same time, these two values had a short life as prices increased in on 1st April 1937.

Type A 

Type B 

Type C 

Complete (Unexploded) 2 fen Booklet

Front View, Front View with Retaining Band and Back View of the 2f Booklet. They look quite big on screen and when you see them advertised, what strikes you when you see the actual item is just how small it is. If you print off a copy you can appreciate this. The actual size of the booklet is 44.25mm x 88.5mm x 1.6mm thick.

The central picture shows the booklet complete with the original inspection wrapper. The two red chops show that each booklet has been checked by one official and the contents counted by another.

Parcel Delivery Record

This is a bi-lingual Parcel Delivery Record Form, printed on very flimsy, almost transparent paper. It shows that a parcel was delivered to a person named Pai Ye Tsun Kwang at Chia T'eng Pu Tui (possibly a military unit) in Hei Ho. The Hei Ho postmark dates this to 5th October 1936, although the postmark on the 10f stamps is a day later.  Hei Ho is North of Arhwen at the end of the railway from Pei An Shi to the Armur river and Siberia.

The parcel number was 28, sent from ? Kang, the weight is not recorded. The next line has boxes for the Insured value. The value of the items received and the customs fee, 10 chiao.